cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Peter B. Seel, Digital Universe: The Global Telecommunication Revolution

Peter Seel provides an amusing and quite readable cafeteria of lists and historical anecdotes about the evolution of the Internet from the telegraph to virtual worlds in Digital Universe: The Global Telecommunication Revolution. The subtitle should have focused on the Internet or the ICT revolution since telecommunications is discussed only in passing. Nonetheless, Seel describes one technological breakthrough after another and their consequences, both positive and problematic.
Word Spotting for Indic Documents to Facilitate Retrieval

With advances in the field of digitization of printed documents and several mass digitization projects underway, information retrieval and document search have emerged as key research areas. However, most of the current work in these areas is limited to English and a few oriental languages. The lack of efficient solutions for Indic scripts has hampered information extraction from a large body of documents of cultural and historical importance. This chapter presents two relevant topics in this area. First, we describe the use of a script-specific keyword spotting for Devanagari documents that makes use of domain knowledge of the script. Second, we address the needs of a digital library to provide access to a collection of documents from multiple scripts. This requires intelligent solutions which scale across different scripts. We present a script-independent keyword spotting approach for this purpose. Experimental results illustrate the efficacy of our methods.
Sources of input to the rostromedial tegmental nucleus, ventral tegmental area, and lateral habenula compared: A study in rat

Profound inhibitory control exerted on midbrain dopaminergic neurons by the lateral habenula (LHb), which has mainly excitatory outputs, is mediated by the GABAergic rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg), which strongly innervates dopaminergic neurons in the ventral midbrain. Early reports indicated that the afferent connections of the RMTg, excepting its very strong LHb inputs, do not differ appreciably from those of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Presumably, however, the RMTg contributes more to behavioral synthesis than to simply invert the valence of the excitatory signal coming from the LHb. Therefore, the present study was done to directly compare the inputs to the RMTg and VTA and, in deference to its substantial involvement with this circuitry, the LHb was also included in the comparison. Data indicated that, while the afferents of the RMTg, VTA, and LHb do originate within the same large pool of central nervous system (CNS) structures, each is also related to structures that project more strongly to it than to the others. The VTA gets robust input from ventral striatopallidum and extended amygdala, whereas RMTg biased inputs arise in structures with a more direct impact on motor function, such as deep layers of the contralateral superior colliculus, deep cerebellar and several brainstem nuclei, and, via a relay in the LHb, the entopeduncular nucleus. Input from the ventral pallidal-lateral preoptic-lateral hypothalamus continuum is strong in the RMTg and VTA and dominant in the LHb. Axon collateralization was also investigated, providing additional insights into the organization of the circuitry of this important triad of structures.
Measles virus nucleocapsid protein, a key contributor to Paget's disease, increases IL-6 expression via down-regulation of FoxO3/Sirt1 signaling

Measles virus plays an important role as an environmental factor in the pathogenesis of Paget's disease (PD). Previous studies have shown that IL-6 is increased in the bone marrow of Paget's patients and that measles virus nucleocapsid protein (MVNP) induces IL-6 secretion by pagetic osteoclasts. Further, IL-6 plays a critical role in the development of pagetic osteoclasts and bone lesions induced by PD, but the mechanisms regulating IL-6 production by MVNP remain unclear. Our current studies revealed that MVNP expression in osteoclast precursors down-regulated Sirt1 mRNA and protein, a negative regulator of NF-κB activity, which is a key factor for IL-6 expression. MVNP expression in NIH3T3 cells also elevated Il-6 transcription and impaired the expression of Sirt1 mRNA both under basal conditions and upon activation of the Sirt1 upstream regulator FoxO3 by LY294002 (a PI3K/AKT inhibitor). Luciferase activity assays showed that constitutively active FoxO3 abolished the repressive effect of MVNP on reporters driven by either FoxO3 response elements or the Sirt1 promoter. Further, protein stability assays revealed that FoxO3 was degraded more rapidly in MVNP-expressing cells than in control cells following the addition of cycloheximide. Similarly, co-transfection of MVNP and FoxO3 into HEK293 cells demonstrated that MVNP decreased the protein levels of over-expressed FoxO3 in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with the proteasome inhibitor, MG132, blocked the MVNP-triggered decrease of FoxO3, and the treatment with the serine/threonine phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin A, revealed that MVNP increased phosphorylation of FoxO3. Further, over-expression of Sirt1 or treatment with the Sirt1 activator resveratrol blocked the increase in Il-6 transcription by MVNP. Finally, resveratrol reduced the numbers of TRAP positive multi-nuclear cells in bone marrow cultures from TRAP-MVNP transgenic mice to wild type levels. These results indicate that MVNP decreases FoxO3/Sirt1 signaling to enhance the levels of IL-6, which in part mediate MVNP's contribution to the development of Paget's disease.
Work in progress — United States Coast Guard Academy Robotics on Water competition as recruiting tool — Program enhancement for STEM & diversity outreach

Over the past two years, the United States Coast Guard Academy developed and implemented a one-day hands-on Coast Guard Academy Robotics On Water program (CGAROW). The program is gaining national attention because of its success in recruiting a diverse group of students interested in pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers in the Coast Guard. In order to meet the growing interest from high schools to host the program, USCGA is standardizing the materials and equipment used in order to make them readily available. Furthermore, to advance CGAROW's role as a STEM outreach program, educational materials are being developed to reinforce STEM concepts within the current middle and high school curricula. The authors discuss the ongoing enhancement of the CGAROW program, its standardization and curriculum development.
A database management system for office systems and advanced workstations

Over the past few years the amount of computing power and storage available to the office worker has greatly increased, resulting in the introduction of increasingly sophisticated and varied office systems applications. Many of these applications operate on structured data that could be manages by a general-purpose database system, but are instead stored in flat files in an application-specific format. On the other hand, applications that operate on relatively unstructured data, such as for word processing, need the transparency and efficiency of a conventional file interface.To this end, we have developed the "Office Database" (ODB), an integrated database and file system based on the Entity_Relationship model. The ODB database interface supports structured data, while the file system interface supports the unstructured data. ODB databases also serve as directories for files (and databases, allowing arbitrary organization and identification of user files and databases.This paper first describes the office application environment and the requirements for an office database. Next, the data model and programming interface for ODB are described. Following this is a description of a full-screen interactive interface to ODB. An overview of the implementation of ODB is given, as well as some details on the current status, and conclusions about the significance of the work.
A New Ice Jam Database

: Ice jam data are often difficult to locate, and doing so requires a search of many different data sources. The US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) has compiled an Ice Jam Database that provides information on nearly 9300 ice events in the United States. The information may be quantitative (e.g., event stage or discharge), qualitative (e.g., a narrative description), or a combination of both. References are provided to serve as a basis for further investigation. Although some selection bias may exist in the database because of its reliance on certain data sources, the database can be an asset in water resources planning and engineering. This paper is an overview of the CRREL Ice Jam Database and presents two applications of it.
Non-iterative approach to multiple 2D motion estimation

We present an innovative method estimating multiple 2D motions from uncalibrated images. Our approach robustly and non-iteratively estimates multiple 2D parametric motions, affine or homography, from noisy initial matches without pre-specifying the number of motions This approach is based on: (1) a parametric motion model to detect and extract 2D affine or homography motions; (2) the representation of matching points in decoupled joint image spaces; (3) the characterization of the property associated with affine transformation in the defined (4) a non-iterative process to extract multiple 2D motions simultaneously based on tensor-voting; (5) local affine to global homography estimation. The major contribution of our work is the extension to our existing affine estimation method for homography estimation. The robustness of the approach is demonstrated with several results.
Gas phase hydrogen atom recombination

Recombination rate measurements are presented for the reaction H+H+M→H 2 +M for M=N 2 , CH 4 , CO 2 , and SF 6 at temperatures from 77 to 295°K for N 2 and CH 4 , and about 160 to 295°K for CO 2 and SF 6 . Data from our earlier work on M=H 2 , He and Ar are included, all rate constants are tabulated and their ratios and temperature dependences are discussed. Compared to k H 2 =8.1×10 −33 cm 6 sec −1 (specific rate constant, T =295°K) k m / k H 2 ratios are 0.87, 1.14, 1.13, 1.89, 2.02, and 2.41 in the order M=He, Ar, N 2 , CH 4 , CO 2 SF 6 . Temperature dependences of k m , in T −n form are n =0.60 for H 2 and 0.40, 0.81, 1.33, 1.2, 2.27, and 1.8 for the other M in the above order. Comparison with theoretical calculations suggests that the recombinantion proceeds almost entirely by the energy transer mechanism and that quantum-mechanical resonances are important intermediates at low temperatures. The results are compared with other published data and attempts are made to correlate them with high temperature results from flame and shock tube studies.
Pelvic floor electrical stimulation in the treatment of genuine stress incontinence: A multicenter, placebo-controlled trial

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine the efficacy of transvaginal electrical stimulation in treating genuine stress incontinence. STUDY DESIGN: This was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled 15-week trial comparing the use of an active pelvic floor stimulator with a sham device. Thirty-five women used an active unit and 17 control subjects used sham devices. Weekly and daily voiding diaries were recorded throughout the trial. Urodynamic testing, including pad test and subtracted cystometry, was done before and at the end of device use. Pelvic muscle strength was measured at baseline and at the end of the trial. Patients scored their symptoms on visual analog scales and completed quality-of-life questionnaires before and after therapy. RESULTS: Significant improvements from baseline were found in patients using active devices but not in controls. Comparisons of changes from baseline between active-device and control patients showed that active-device patients had significantly greater improvement in weekly ( p = 0.009) and daily ( p = 0.04) leakage episodes, pad testing ( p = 0.005), and vaginal muscle strength ( p = 0.02) when compared with control subjects. Significantly greater improvement was also found for both visual analog scores of urinary incontinence ( p = 0.007) and stress incontinence ( p = 0.02), as well as for subjective reporting of frequency of urine loss ( p = 0.002), and urine loss with sneezing, coughing, or laughing ( p = 0.02), when compared with controls. Pad testing showed that stress incontinence was improved by at least 50% in 62% of patients using an active device compared with only 19% of patients using sham devices ( p = 0.01). Voiding diaries showed at least 50% improvement in 48% of active-device patients compared with 13% of women using the sham device ( p = 0.02). No irreversible adverse effects were noted in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Transvaginal pelvic floor electrical stimulation was found to be a safe and effective therapy for genuine stress incontinence.
Epidemiology of cytokines: the Women On the Move through Activity and Nutrition (WOMAN) Study.

Using multiplex technology, the authors investigated the laboratory and biologic variation of a panel of cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1a, IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, interferon-inducible protein-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α) over 18 months and their relations to cardiovascular disease risk factors, hormone therapy, and weight loss. Data were obtained from the Woman On the Move through Activity and Nutrition (WOMAN) Study, a randomized clinical trial investigating the effect of nonpharmacologic interventions on subclinical atherosclerosis among overweight, postmenopausal women in Pennsylvania. The present analysis (February 2002–August 2005) comprised 290 women aged 52–62 years (mean age = 57 years). Most of the cytokines were detectable in a majority of the samples, and the between-individual biologic variation was greater than the within-individual biologic and laboratory variation. There was little association between use of hormone therapy at baseline or change in hormone therapy by 18 months and cytokine levels. Weight loss was associated with a decrease in levels of IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-6, and C-reactive protein. The results suggest that a wide panel of cytokines may be measured simultaneously from one sample. There is large unexplained variability in cytokine levels that is probably due to genetic-environmental associations.
Interaction of Ti with the (0001) surface of highly oriented pyrolitic graphite.

The nature of the interaction between highly oriented pyrolitic graphite (HOPG) and adsorbed Ti is examined by soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. By monitoring the C 1s signal, it is found that Ti does not chemically bond to, but only interacts through the Van der Waals force with, a pristine HOPG surface. Time-dependent variations in the C 1s peak intensity are interpreted in terms of diffusion of adsorbed Ti atoms, which results in the formation of clusters. This behavior is further evidence for a weakly adsorbed overlayer and implies that this surface is {ital a priori} unable to support a layer-by-layer growth. A chemical reaction occurs only when oxygen is incorporated or defects are present. The presence of adatoms on HOPG has an effect on the screening process of the HOPG C 1s core hole, which can be detected even at the Van der Waals interaction level. This may be used as a measure of the strength of interfacial interactions, especially for cases of weak or small-scale interactions. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}
The Relationship Between Microseism Period and Storm Position.

Abstract : A study was made of the distribution of microseism periods in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the western North Atlantic Ocean. The records at 15 stations from 14 hurricanes indicated a definite relationship between microseism periods at appropriate storm position. Plotted average microseism periods at appropriate storm positions indicated a 2.5- to 3.5 sec zone in the Gulf of Mexico, a 4.5- to 5.0-sec zone in an elongated region between Bermuda and the 1000- fathom contour off the east coast, and a 5.5- to 6.0-sec zone in the ocean area southeast of Bermuda. These trends are believed to indicate a correlation with their water or water and sediment depths.
Differential Induction of Peroxygenase-Dependent Microsomal Aniline Hydroxylase by Chronic Ethanol Ingestion

ABSTRACTThe liver microsomal-mediated hydroxylation of aniline, which is selectively induced by chronic (EtOH) ingestion, has been studied as a function of NADPH plus dioxygen (O2)- or hydroperoxide-dependent reactions. Consistent with the well-documented induction of aniline hydroxylase following chronic ethanol -ingestion, the results showed selectivity towards aniline hydroxylase by the NADPH plus 02- and tert-butyl hydroper-xide (t-BuOOH)-dependent reactions with microsomes from EtOH-fed rats. On the other hand, the cumene hydroperoxide (CumOOH)-dependent aniline hydroxylase activity was not discriminated between microsomes from EtOH-and pair-fed rats. In parallel experiments with positive controls, CumOOH did show selectivity for phenobarbital (PB)- induced microsomal aniline hydroxylase compared to chow-fed rats. The Kcat/Km values, which indicate the efficiency of enzyme catalysis, for NADPH plus 02-, t-BuOOH, and CumOOH-dependent aniline hydroxylase from EtOH-fed rats were 102, 37, and 5 and from ...
Strategies for Treatment Refractory Depression

Ten to thirty percent of patients do not respond adequately to antidepressant therapy. Absolute treatment refractory depression occurs in up to 10% of patients with depression. To date, few studies have addressed this issue. Several treatment options are available for refractory depression, including increasing the dose, extending the treatment period, switching and augmentation strategies, and electroconvulsive therapy. This paper will review some strategies available for treatment refractory depression.
Navier-Stokes study of supersonic cavity flowfield with passive control

A computational investigation of the supersonic turbulent flow past a two-dimensiona l rectangular cavity with passive venting is described. The effect of passive venting was included through the use of a porous surface over a vent chamber in the floor of the cavity. The passive venting was numerically simulated by the use of a linear form of the Darcy pressure-velocity law. The time-accurate solutions of the two-dimensional, Reynoldsaveraged, Navier-Stokes equations were generated using the explicit MacCormack scheme. The capability Of the numerical scheme is first demonstrated by the computations of an open and closed cavity without passive venting. The results of these computations also provide a reference case for the passive venting computations. The effect of passive venting on the closed cavity is then demonstrated and analyzed. These results show that the passive venting dramatically changes the closed cavity flow to nearly an open cavity flow. The free shear layer formed between the high-speed outer flow and slower inner flow is seen to bridge the cavity completely j resulting in an open cavity flow. The passive venting velocities are determined to be less than 5% of the freestream velocities, and largely confined to the upstream and downstream portions of the cavity floor. The computational results show good agreement with available experimental data.
Optical measurements on the nanometer scale

Abstract Near-field optics has seen a variety of novel applications, including ultramicroscopy, microspectroscopy, photofabrication, single molecule studies and biochemical sensing. Intracellular calcium responses upon drug stimulation have been monitored in single living cells. Single molecule optical probes have been nanofabricated, and these probe's optical and spectroscopic properties have been characterized. Ultrasensitive detection schemes, using near-field optical probes, have been developed for ultratrace level analysis. Biomolecule immobilization has been carried out on optical fiber probes for the preparation of sensitive biochemical sensors. These research activities will further enrich the field of near-field optics, and it is expected that near field optics' potential will be fully explored for a variety of applications.
Explicit Hamiltonian for SU(2) lattice gauge theory.

We study pure SU(2) gauge theory in the Hamiltonian formulation in 2 + 1 and 3 + 1 dimensions. We treat both the vacuum sector and the sector having two static color charges. These two sectors are required for calculations of glueballs and string tension. All gauge arbitrariness is eliminated, and we formulate the Hamiltonian in terms of variables that are gauge invariant except for freedom under a single global SU(2) transformation. The Hamiltonian is given explicitly as a differential operator in the parameters for these essentially gauge-invariant variables. We discuss practical applications of the Hamiltonian.
Biofilms, flagella, and mechanosensing of surfaces by bacteria

Formation of a bacterial biofilm is a developmental process that begins when a cell attaches to a surface, but how does a bacterial cell know it is on or near a surface in the first place? The phase of this 'swim-or-stick' switch is determined by a sensory transduction mechanism referred to as surface sensing, which involves the rotating bacterial flagellum. This review explores six bacterial species as models of flagellar mechanosensing of surfaces to understand the current state of our knowledge and the challenges that lie ahead. A common link between these bacteria is a requirement for the proper function of the flagellar motor stators that channel ions into the cell to drive flagellar rotation. Conditions that affect ion flow act as a signal that, ultimately, controls the master transcriptional regulatory circuits controlling the flagellar hierarchy and biofilm formation.
Charting uncharted terrain: a behavioral observation system for mutual help groups.

Describes the development of a behavioral observation system for mutual help meetings and presents evidence supporting its reliability, validity, and utility. The MHOS-BIC (Mutual Help Observation System-Behavioral Interaction Codes) was used by 10 observers to record the sequential flow of group interaction in 527 meetings. Psychometric analyses indicate that the system performed consistently with measurement objectives. Mean kappas for each of the 12 coding categories ranged from .62 to .87; the system demonstrated sensitivity to setting and time differences; and a predictable pattern of correlations was found among BIC categories and conceptually related participant and observer ratings. Studies using the BIC to address substantive questions about mutual help are reviewed, providing further evidence for its validity and utility. An empirical description of mutual help is presented using BIC data, and the promises and limitations of the system are discussed.
Fluoride residues in frozen foods fumigated with sulfuryl fluoride.

Mesure des residus de fluorure dans les aliments congeles sans emballage ou conditionnes dans du polyethylene, ces produits ayant ete soumis a une fumigation par le fluorure de sulfuryl, utilise comme pesticide
Trust computation through anomaly monitoring in distributed cognitive radio networks

The open philosophy of cognitive radio networks makes them vulnerable to various types of attacks which compromises the efficiency of these networks. One such attack is the Spectrum Sensing Data Falsification (SSDF) attack where malicious nodes report false spectrum occupancy data to others which when used leads to inference that is far from the true spectrum occupancy. Thus, there is a need to identify the malicious nodes or at least find the trustworthiness of nodes such that the data sent by malicious nodes could be filtered out. This paper proposes a scheme for trust based fusion by monitoring anomalies in advertised spectrum usage reports by secondary nodes. Such monitoring leads to evaluation of trust of a node by its neighbors. The calculated trust is then used to determine if a neighbor node's advertised data could be used for fusion or not. We provide a heuristic trust threshold for nodes to disregard malicious nodes while fusing the data, which holds good for any probability of attack. To validate our model we conduct extensive simulation experiments. Our results show that majority of the nodes are able to fuse data with greater accuracy for various probabilities or intensities of attack. We also compare our results with blind fusion scheme and observe improvement in accuracy of fusion from individual nodes' as well as overall network's perspective. We also report a very counter-intuitive observation: at lower probabilities of attack, a malicious node's contribution to the overall gain in cooperation is more than the damage done.
Mister Don't Touch the Banana: Notes on the popularity of the ethnosexed body south of the border

Reflexions sur l'industrie anthropologique, sur les processus d'election d'un terrain de recherche, de methodologie, de theorisation, de publication et de statut d'auteur, ainsi que d'utilite pedagogique notamment des etudes «indigenes» sur l'homosexualite masculine aux Etats-Unis et en Amerique centrale et propose une critique de la teleologie dont cela procede en examinant des donnees methodologique et theorique comme la «visibilite» et l'«expression»
Adolescent overweight is associated with adult overweight and related multiple cardiovascular risk factors: the Bogalusa Heart Study.

Overweight in adolescence is considered an important predictor of long-term morbidity and mortality. The impact of adolescent overweight on adult overweight and related multiple cardiovascular risk factors was examined in a biracial (black-white) cohort (N = 783) who participated in two cross-sectional surveys as adolescents aged 13 to 17 years and as young adults aged 27 to 31 years. The cohort was categorized as adolescent-onset adult overweight (N = 110) or lean (N = 81) according to age-, race-, and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) greater than the 75th percentile or between the 25th and 50th percentiles on both surveys. The risk for overweight adolescents to remain overweight as young adults ranged from 52% in black males to 62% in black females. As young adults, the overweight cohort showed adverse levels of body fatness measures, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin, and glucose as compared with the lean cohort (P 75th percentile) for the total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio, insulin level, and systolic blood pressure occurred only among the overweight cohort (P < .0001). Thus, excess weight in adolescence persists into young adulthood, and has a strong adverse impact on multiple cardiovascular risk factors, requiring primary prevention early in life.
Numerical Simulations of Two-Phase Turbulent Combustion in Spray Burners

The complex interactions among turbulence, combustion and spray in liquid-fuel burners are modeled and simulated via a new two-phase Lagrangian-Eulerian-Lagrangian large eddy simulation (LES) methodology. In this methodology, the spray is modeled with a Lagrangian mathematical/computational method which allows two-way mass, momentum and energy coupling between phases. The subgrid gas-liquid combustion is based on the two-phase filtered mass density function (FMDF) that has several advantages over “conventional” two-phase combustion models. The LES/FMDF is employed in conjunction with non-equilibrium reaction and droplet models. Simulations of turbulent combustion in a spray-controlled double-swirl burner are conducted via LES/FMDF. The generated results are used for better understanding of spray combustion in realistic turbulent flow configurations. The effects of spray angle, mass loading ratio, fuel type, droplet size distribution, wall and inflow/outflow conditions on the flow and combustion are investigated. The LES/FMDF predictions are shown to be consistent with the experimental results.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Different Paths to Mass Consumption: Consumer Credit in the United States and West Germany during the 1950s and '60s

This article shows how differences in the way Americans and West Germans financed their consumption during the postwar decades underlines differences in social and cultural meanings of consumption. Consumer debt rose rapidly in postwar America. Many Americans came to regard credit as a means of ensuring democratic access to the American dream and to an expanding middle class. The federal government regarded installment credit as a viable way of expanding mass purchasing power and to reinforce a nascent consumer culture built on emulative spending and the rapid diffusion of new goods. By contrast, many West Germans consumers as well as retailers and regulators were more reluctant to embrace consumer credit. Financing consumer goods on credit did not become the hall-mark of new-found middle-class respectability in West-Germany. Rather, to many West German elites and middle-class consumers credit buying retained the stigma of a working class life-style. While the use of consumer credit became more common, it never reached the importance it had across the Atlantic. Far from being a model, the United States stood out as a peculiar case with regard to credit financing and household savings during the postwar period.
Walcott's sea and Caribbean geomythography

There is an imaginative unity to Derek Walcott's treatment of the sea as matter and metaphor that exemplifies how Walcott's poetic vision and voice have been shaped by his immersion in Caribbean seascapes. This essay focuses on Walcott's epic-minded poems that indicate his impulse towards the poetic vision quest as a transcendental return to an originary site of collective experience. These journeys into deep water confront primordial chaos in order to create a Caribbean place-based mythopoetics that makes meaning from the transculturation of oceanic crossings and gives form to artistic renderings of life in an archipelago.
Structure-Activity Relationships and X-ray Structures Describing the Selectivity of Aminopyrazole Inhibitors for c-Jun N-terminal Kinase 3 (JNK3) over p38

c-Jun N-terminal kinase 3alpha1 (JNK3alpha1) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase family member expressed primarily in the brain that phosphorylates protein transcription factors, including c-Jun and activating transcription factor-2 (ATF-2) upon activation by a variety of stress-based stimuli. In this study, we set out to design JNK3-selective inhibitors that had >1000-fold selectivity over p38, another closely related mitogen-activated protein kinase family member. To do this we employed traditional medicinal chemistry principles coupled with structure-based drug design. Inhibitors from the aminopyrazole class, such as SR-3576, were found to be very potent JNK3 inhibitors (IC(50) = 7 nm) with >2800-fold selectivity over p38 (p38 IC(50) > 20 microm) and had cell-based potency of approximately 1 microm. In contrast, indazole-based inhibitors exemplified by SR-3737 were potent inhibitors of both JNK3 (IC(50) = 12 nm) and p38 (IC(50) = 3 nm). These selectivity differences between the indazole class and the aminopyrazole class came despite nearly identical binding (root mean square deviation = 0.33 A) of these two compound classes to JNK3. The structural features within the compounds giving rise to the selectivity in the aminopyrazole class include the highly planar nature of the pyrazole, N-linked phenyl structures, which better occupied the smaller active site of JNK3 compared with the larger active site of p38.
Inferring ancient divergences requires genes with strong phylogenetic signals

To tackle incongruence, the topological conflict between different gene trees, phylogenomic studies couple concatenation with practices such as rogue taxon removal or the use of slowly evolving genes. Phylogenomic analysis of 1,070 orthologues from 23 yeast genomes identified 1,070 distinct gene trees, which were all incongruent with the phylogeny inferred from concatenation. Incongruence severity increased for shorter internodes located deeper in the phylogeny. Notably, whereas most practices had little or negative impact on the yeast phylogeny, the use of genes or internodes with high average internode support significantly improved the robustness of inference. We obtained similar results in analyses of vertebrate and metazoan phylogenomic data sets. These results question the exclusive reliance on concatenation and associated practices, and argue that selecting genes with strong phylogenetic signals and demonstrating the absence of significant incongruence are essential for accurately reconstructing ancient divergences. Determining major branches in the tree of life generally relies on concatenating as much genetic information as possible, but, as shown here, phylogenomic analysis often produces results that are incongruent with the results of concatenation; a method that gives credence to genes or internodes with high average internode support reduces the incongruence. Evolutionary events that happened close together, but long ago, present particular challenges to those seeking to reconstruct evolutionary history. The usual method relies on brute force — simply concatenate as much genetic information as possible and see what comes out. But how good are the data used to make such concatenations? Leonidas Salichos and Antonis Rokas asked this question of a 1,070-gene data set from 23 yeast genomes, and discovered that none of the 1,070 gene trees was identical to the phylogeny that received 100% support from the concatenation analysis. Incongruence severity increased for shorter internodes located deeper on the phylogeny. The researchers untied the knot by giving most credence to genes or internodes with high average clade support. They argue that abolishing incongruence in the data should be a first step for anyone seeking to unravel evolutionary events in deep time.
Photochemical hole burning in bacteriorhodopsin

Abstract Photochemical hole burning has been observed in the absorption spectrum of light-adapted bacteriorhodopsin and in its bathochromic intermediate K at 1.6 to 90 K. Hole widths (≈800 cm −1 hwhm) show evidence of large homogeneous linewidths, which are attributed to vibronic broadening. Holes were burned into the absorption spectrum of K with burn wavelengths from 514 to 650 nm. These results are discussed, and related to recent models of the excited-state dynamics in bacteriorhodopsin.
Ecology and conservation of the endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus)

Field studies were conducted on the western population of the endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) in Oklahoma and Arkansas to determine its habitat affinities. A common cause of declining populations is some specialized adaptation that makes it difficult to respond to a rapidly changing habitat. We evaluated the hypothesis that N. americanus is a habitat specialist in its search for food, preferring mature forests with deep, humic soils. This hypothesis was rejected. Based on comparisons of niche breadth among syntopic congeners and niche overlap, N. americanus is relatively generalized in its use of a range of habitats when searching for food. It is likely that the generalist nature and the endangered status of N. americanus both derive from the fact that it is the largest member of its guild. In comparison to smaller species, N. americanus breeds on larger carcasses, which are more unpredictable in space and time. It is likely, therefore, that N. americanus must search over a larger area and greater diversity of habitats than its smaller congeners.
Sirtuins for healthy neurons

Sir2 deacetylases are believed to promote the survival and longevity of organisms during times of adversity. A new study shows that activation of Sir2 by small molecules called sirtuin-activating compounds increases neuronal survival in two different models of Huntington disease, possibly opening new avenues for treatment.
Effect of short-course high-dose methylprednisolone treatment on serum IL-2 levels in children with myelodysplastic syndromes : A pilot study

Promising results in children with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have been reported with high-dose methylprednisolone (HDMP) as a differentiation inducer, combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy. HDMP treatment has been shown to stimulate some cytokines in patients with acute leukemia. In the present study the effect of HDMP treatment on serum levels of interleukin 2 (IL-2) was evaluated in five children with MDS. Remarkable increases in serum IL-2 levels were observed 3 and 7 days after HDMP (30 mg/kg per day) treatment in three patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). There was no correlation between the peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte counts and serum IL-2 levels. The results of this preliminary study indicate that the use of short-course HDMP treatment might be beneficial to increase the serum IL-2 level in patients with CMML.
Activation of JNK signaling mediates amyloid-ß-dependent cell death.

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age related progressive neurodegenerative disorder. One of the reasons for Alzheimer's neuropathology is the generation of large aggregates of As42 that are toxic in nature and induce oxidative stress, aberrant signaling and many other cellular alterations that trigger neuronal cell death. However, the exact mechanisms leading to cell death are not clearly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings We employed a Drosophila eye model of AD to study how As42 causes cell death. Misexpression of higher levels of As42 in the differentiating photoreceptors of fly retina rapidly induced aberrant cellular phenotypes and cell death. We found that blocking caspase-dependent cell death initially blocked cell death but did not lead to a significant rescue in the adult eye. However, blocking the levels of c-Jun NH (2)-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway significantly rescued the neurodegeneration phenotype of As42 misexpression both in eye imaginal disc as well as the adult eye. Misexpression of As42 induced transcriptional upregulation of puckered (puc), a downstream target and functional read out of JNK signaling. Moreover, a three-fold increase in phospho-Jun (activated Jun) protein levels was seen in As42 retina as compared to the wild-type retina. When we blocked both caspases and JNK signaling simultaneously in the fly retina, the rescue of the neurodegenerative phenotype is comparable to that caused by blocking JNK signaling pathway alone. Conclusions/Significance Our data suggests that (i) accumulation of As42 plaques induces JNK signaling in neurons and (ii) induction of JNK contributes to As42 mediated cell death. Therefore, inappropriate JNK activation may indeed be relevant to the AD neuropathology, thus making JNK a key target for AD therapies.
Ultraviolet fluorescence identification of protein, DNA, and bacteria

Recent food poisoning incidents have highlighted the need for inexpensive instrumentation that can detect food pathogens. Instrumentation that detects the relatively strong ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence signal from the aromatic protein amino acids in bacteria could provide a solution to the problem of real-time pathogen measurements. The capabilities of UV fluorescence measurements have, however, been largely ignored because of the difficulty in identifying pathogens in the presence of interfering backgrounds. Implementation of fluorescence measurements thus requires methodologies that can distinguish fluorescence features associated with pathogens from those associated with proteins, harmless bacteria, skin, blood, hair follicles, pesticide residue, etc. We describe multispectral UV fluorescence measurements that demonstrate the feasibility of detecting and identifying protein, DNA, and bacteria using a relatively simple UV imaging fluorometer and a unique multivariate analysis algorithm.
COMPARATIVE METROPOLITAN AREA ANALYSIS: MATCHING THE 1980 AND 1990 CENSUS PUBLIC USE MICRODATA SAMPLES FOR METROPOLITAN AREAS

The 1980 and 1990 Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) of the U.S. Census contain detailed information on individuals in large samples. The incompatible PUMS metropolitan geographies across these census years, however, compromise use of these data. In this note, we discuss a procedure to match the geography of the 100 most populous metropolitan areas in the 1980 and 1990 PUMS. Programmed in SAS, this set of matched metropolitan areas facilitates comparative urban analysis for 1980 and 1990. The code can be downloaded from a website (http://baja.sscnet.ucla.edu/eellis/metrocode.html).
The British Constitution and the Structure of the Labour Party

The British Labour Party defies the classifications which students of the structure of political parties have developed. By its historical origin and its formal organization it would seem to be a mass party in the sense that Duverger and others have used that term. But it has also exhibited, notably since 1945, the characteristics of a traditional parliamentary party, denying its mass membership power and influence and allowing its parliamentary leaders the exercise of full authority. Yet in the nineteen-thirties there was evidence that the Labour Party was developing all the characteristics of a mass party, doctrinaire in its program, unreconciled to parliamentary institutions, and anxious to subordinate its parliamentary leadership to the extra-parliamentary organization. It is the defeat of this tendency and the assertion of parliamentarism in the period since World War II which makes this a decisive epoch in the development of the Labour Party, the study of which offers an explanation of the paradox of the party's structure.
Training in adolescent group psychotherapy

Training in adolescent group psychotherapy has been a neglected topic. In this paper, some of the principles of developing a training program in adolescent group therapy are reviewed with special emphasis on data from research, developmental considerations, curriculum descriptions, and supervisors.
Advances in copper-chalcopyrite thin films for solar energy conversion

Promising alternatives to crystalline silicon as the basic building block of solar cells include copper-chalcopyrite thin films such as copper indium gallium diselenide, a class of thin films exhibiting bandgap-tunable semiconductor behavior, direct bandgaps and high absorption coefficients. These properties allow for the development of novel solar-energy conversion configurations like ultra-high efficiency multi-junction solar cells utilizing combinations of photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical junctions for hydrogen production. This paper discusses the current worldwide status as well as the development and optimization of copper-chalcopyrite thin films deposited onto various substrate types for different photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical applications at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.
The prison control structure and its effects on work attitudes: The perceptions and attitudes of prison guards

Abstract Recent observers have noted the frequently voiced complaint of prison guards that they have too little influence on decisions about the operations and goals of prisons. This lack of influence, moreover, is thought to be associated with such work-related attitudes as job satisfaction, role strain, and alienation. Yet, it is unclear from previous analyses whether this complaint (1) is based solely on the actual amount of control guards believe they have, (2) arises from a perceived disparity between their amount of control and that held by prisoners and administrators, or (3) reflects a felt discrepancy between the guards' actual and ideal amounts of control in the prison. The present study examined survey data from four prisons to quantify the guards' perceptions of the prison control structure and to assess the relative contributions of the perceived amount, distribution, and discrepancy between actual and ideal control for guards to the work-related attitudes of job satisfaction, role strain, and alienation. The results indicated that guards perceive the total amount of control in the prison as finite, that they desire an increase in their own level of control commensurate with the decrease they desire in the prisoners' amount of control, and that the perceived amount, distribution, and discrepancy between guards' actual and ideal control have a significant effect on guards' work-related attitudes.
Radiation therapy treatment of stage I and II extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck

We have reviewed the records of 76 patients with Stage I or II extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who were referred to the Division of Radiation Oncology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, during the years 1964 through 1974. The histologic slides were reviewed in the 67 cases in which they were available. Forty-three percent of Ann Arbor Stage I and II patients relapsed after primary radiation treatment.Seventy-three percent of these failed in sites distant from the irradiated volume. Failures in the treated volume were infrequent (7%) except in those patients presenting with primary lesions of the brain (4/5). Those patients presenting with lesions of Waldeyer's ring experienced a decrease in survival with increasing tumor size. Because of the high rate of failure in distant sites with tumors in the lingual and palatine tonsils, we are recommending the study of adjuvant chemotherapy in these cases, after primary radiation treatment.
Identification and characterization of the Arabidopsis FG-repeat nucleoporin Nup62

Ran is a multifunctional small GTPase that is involved in nucleocytoplasmic transport, mitotic spindle assembly, and nuclear envelope reformation. Nuclear transport factor 2 (NTF2) facilitates nuclear import of Ran. It binds FxFG repeat-containing domains of the nucleoporins Nup62 (vertebrate) and Nsp1p (yeast). Here, we have identified Arabidopsis Nup62 through its sequence similarity to mammalian Nup62 and yeast Nsp1p. A GFP¬AtNup62 fusion protein is associated with the nuclear envelope in transgenic Arabidopsis plants and interacts in planta with AtNTF2a, one of the two Arabidopsis NTF2 homologs. Overexpression-based co-suppression of AtNup62 leads to severely dwarfed, early-flowering plants, suggesting an important function for Nup62 in plants.
Spousal relationship changes in Alzheimer's disease

Over 4 million Americans are affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD). Research suggests that caregivers are at risk for developing serious health problems due to the demands of the role. The purposes of this grounded theory study were to explore the changes experienced by spouse caregivers in their marital relationships because of AD, describe the challenges they faced, and to discover the process used by the caregivers to explain what was happening to them, their spouses, and their relationships over time. Guided by the conceptual perspectives of Modeling-Role Modeling and Attachment-Loss-Reattachment, the process of imposed detachment emerged as the grounded theory that captured the participants’ descriptions of what happened within the marital relationship over time while caring for a partner with AD. Findings of this study provide direction to future research and suggest to clinical practitioners that healing interventions can be developed to support the needs of this special group of caregivers.
Critical Exponents for a System of Heat Equations Coupled in a Non-linear Boundary Condition

In this paper we consider a system of heat equations u t, = xu, v t = xv in an unbounded domain Ω ⊂ R N coupled through the Neumann boundary conditions u v = v P , v v = u q , where p > 0,q > 0, pq > 1 and v is the exterior unit normal on ∂Ω. It is shown that for several types of domain there exists a critical exponent such that all of positive solutions blow up in a finite time in subcritical case (including the critical case) while there exist positive global solutions in the supercritical case if initial data are small.