cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Soviet Agricultural Policies and the Feed-Livestock Sector

During the 1970s and early 1980s the USSR experienced rapidly rising costs of production for livestock and declines in many key performance indicators. Beginning in 1979 this situation was exacerbated by a string of disappointing grain harvests. The Soviet Food Program, unveiled in May 1982, represents the centerpiece of agricultural policy in the 1980s. It hopes to achieve a significant improvement in Soviet diets by 1990, while simultaneously reversing the decline in agricultural performance. A primary measure of improving diet in the USSR will be increased consumption of meat. Given current retail price policy, availability of other consumer goods and consumer preferences, higher meat consumption is an appropriate goal. However, production-oriented policies in the Food Program are not expected to result in more than gradual improvement in performance in the Soviet feedlivestock sector. In comparison with either Hungarian or Chinese reforms, the Food Program policies are quite modest and are not likely to be seriously revised before the end of the decade.
Design of Chimeric Alphaviruses with a Programmed, Attenuated, Cell Type-Restricted Phenotype

The Alphavirus genus in the Togaviridae family contains a number of human and animal pathogens. The importance of alphaviruses has been strongly underappreciated; however, epidemics of chikungunya virus (CHIKV), causing millions of cases of severe and often persistent arthritis in the Indian subcontinent, have raised their profile in recent years. In spite of a continuous public health threat, to date no licensed vaccines have been developed for alphavirus infections. In this study, we have applied an accumulated knowledge about the mechanism of alphavirus replication and protein function in virus-host interactions to introduce a new approach in designing attenuated alphaviruses. These variants were constructed from genes derived from different, geographically isolated viruses. The resulting viable variants encoded CHIKV envelope and, in contrast to naturally circulating viruses, lacked the important contributors to viral pathogenesis: genes encoding proteins functioning in inhibition of cellular transcription and downregulation of the cellular antiviral response. To make these viruses incapable of transmission by mosquito vectors and to differentially regulate expression of viral structural proteins, their replication was made dependent on the internal ribosome entry sites, derived from other positive-polarity RNA (RNA+) viruses. The rational design of the genomes was complemented by selection procedures, which adapted viruses to replication in tissue culture and produced variants which (i) demonstrated different levels of replication and production of the individual structural proteins, (ii) efficiently induced the antiviral response in infected cells, (iii) were incapable of replication in cells of mosquito origin, and (iv) efficiently replicated in Vero cells. This modular approach to genome design is applicable for the construction of other alphaviruses with a programmed, irreversibly attenuated phenotype.
Molecular interactions in aqueous solutions of the starch polysaccharides: a review

Abstract The aqueous solution behaviour of malto oligosaccharides, amylose and amylopectin is discussed. Experimental studies, using biophysical methods, on the aggregation behaviour of these compounds are reviewed.
Local Fiscal Responses to Procyclical Changes in State Aid

This article examines the asymmetry in local government responses to economic-cycle-based changes of state aid in a framework that distinguishes current outlay from noncurrent expenses and discretionary savings. Employing a panel dataset of Massachusetts municipalities for two economic cycles, we obtain three findings. First, we do not find evidence of property-tax relief during economic booms. Second, discretionary savings may be used to cover noncurrent outlays during booms and to offset spending cuts during recessions. Finally, we find a large (asymmetric) fiscal inducement that may emerge during recessions when state aid cuts coincide with property-tax shortfalls. While these context-specific results may not be easily generalizable, they necessitate further research into the role of local discretionary savings and cash reserves in intergovernmental fiscal relations.
Observation of a new cell volume expanded superconducting state in YBa2(CuNi)3Oy near y = 6.5

Abstract Strong cell volume expansions (V + ) are observed near y = 6.5 on reoxidation of reduced YBa 2 (Cu 1− x Ni x ) 3 O y , x = 0.05 and y ∼ 6.3. These materials develop bulk superconductivity with T c ∼ 72 K. This superconductivity disappears upon further reoxidation and reappears in fully reoxygenated materials with T c = 68 K in conventional volume contracted (V − ) p doped materials. Bond valence calculations make plausible that the local configuration (1)3, where (1) denotes the Cu(1) site and 3 the O coordination is involved in V + which is corroborated by TEM. Accordingly the nominally 2 + Cu at y = 6.5 is reduced and O oxidized. Bond valence calculation and the magnitude of T c (comparable to the fully oxygenated material) suggest that Cu is in a stoichiometric valence v s = 1.67 + creating one hole on O. This represents a new mechanism of self-doping by rebalancing according to YBa 2 Cu 1+ Cu 2 2+ O 5.5 2− with charge equilibration implied (written for the idealized formula). V + effects are also found in related systems and by related preparations and discussed as a generic new feature of reductive Cu chemistry.
Numerical modeling of the cornea’s lamellar structure and birefringence properties

A model of the cornea's lamellar structure is proposed that is capable of explaining experimental results obtained for the transmission of normal-incidence polarized light through rabbit and bovine cornea. The model consists of a large number of planar lamellae, each approximated as a uniaxial birefringent layer, stacked one upon another with various angular orientations. Polarized light transmission through the composite system is modeled theoretically by use of the Jones matrix formalism. The light transmission is calculated numerically for a large number of model lamellae arrangements, each generated from a statistical description, and histograms are constructed of various properties of the light transmission, including the minimum and maximum cross-polarized output intensities. It is demonstrated that various structural and optical parameters of the lamellae arrangements of actual corneas may be estimated by comparison of the calculations with detailed experimental data. Certain characteristics of the histograms are identified that permit a clear distinction between random and partially ordered systems. Comparisons with previously published experimental data provide strong evidence that the lamellae orientations are not entirely random, but rather a significant fraction are oriented in a fixed, preferred direction.
Ultrastructure of a virilizing ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell

A case of virilizing ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor in a young female was studied by light and electron microscopy. The ultrastructural findings were similar to those reported in the literature and suggest the presence of two types of cells which have a common origin. The patient's aunt and grandmother had had similar tumors; the one in the aunt proved malignant. The English literature review revealed the familial occurrence of virilizing ovarian tumor in only two previous cases. Virus-like particles were seen in our case and the significance of this observation was discussed.
Lymphadenektomie beim colorectalen Carcinom

Bei ca. 50 % der Patienten mit lokalisiertem colorectalem Carcinom werden im Verlauf der Erkrankung Rezidive gesichert. Diese Rezidive werden als Manifestation von, bei der Erstoperation nicht entfernten, regionalen oder extraregionalen Mikrometastasen aufgefast (peripheres Blut oder Knochenmark). In unserer Arbeitsgruppe wurde ein Verfahren zur Entdeckung nicht sichtbarer, abdomineller Metastasen entwickelt. Dazu wird vor der Operation ein radioaktiv markierter Antitumorzellen-Antikorper injiziert („radioimmunoguided surgery“, RIGS). Trotz Einsatz fortschrittlicher Technologien ist es nicht moglich, im Falle einer hamatogenen Dissemination alle Mikrometastasen zu entfernen. Ausgehend von dem Wissen um die gestorte humorale Immunantwort, die gegen die freigesetzten tumorassoziierten Antigene (TAA), gerichtet ist, haben wir eine neue Methodik entwickelt, um die Immunantwort der B-Zellen und die Rekrutierung aller B-Zellen, verursacht durch die chronische TAA-Immunkomplexprasentation auf den follicularen dentritischen Zellen, zu reduzieren und zu korrigieren („immune corrective surgery“, ICS). Diese Methode basiert auf einer selektiven Lymphadenektomie. Die Ziellymphknoten sind die, welche mit TAA-Immunkomplexen beladen sind. Als Detektionsmethode wahlten wir die Injektion von radioaktiv markierten Antikorpern, die fahig sind, die Immunkomplexe zu erkennen. Von 20 Patienten (Stadium I, II und III), die mit ICS therapiert wurden, uberlebten 17 mehr als 5 Jahre. Wenn diese Patientengruppe mit einer historischen Gruppe verglichen wird, zeigt sich ein signifikanter Uberlebensvorteil. Zusammenfassend zeigen diese Daten, das die Chirurgie des colorectalen Carcinoms selektiv auf spezifische anatomische Regionen ausgedehnt werden sollte, um bisher verborgen gebliebene Mikrometastasen zu entfernen. Ein weiterer, noch wichtigerer Vorteil ist es, das die postoperative Immunantwort korrigiert wird, die die T-Zellantwort gegen residuale Tumorzellen supprimieren konnte.
Binaral rivalry between the nostrils and in the cortex

When two different images are presented to the two eyes, we perceive alternations between seeing one image and seeing the other. Termed binocular rivalry, this visual phenomenon has been known for over a century [1] and has been systematically studied in recent years at both the behavioral and neural levels [2]. A similar phenomenon has been documented in audition [3]. Here we report the discovery of alternating olfactory percepts when two different odorants are presented to the two nostrils. This binaral rivalry involves both cortical and peripheral (olfactory receptor) adaptations. Our discovery opens up new avenues to explore the workings of the olfactory system and olfactory awareness.
The impact of a lifestyle change program on the mental health of obese under-served African American women.

Abstract Background Obesity is a critical social and health issue, adversely impacting life expectancy, quality of life, and mental health. Minorities are disproportionately impacted by obesity with African Americans experiencing the highest prevalence among minority groups. Purpose The aim of this study was to determine if a lifestyle program that integrated chair exercises, nutrition and educational counseling, and scripture readings would help under-served obese African American women make lifestyle changes that would positively impact their quality of life, especially mental health. Methods A repeated measures intervention study was conducted (24-weeks). Weeks 1–12 involved meeting twice a week for a total of 4 h with participants engaged in chair exercises, educational counseling, and scripture readings. During weeks 13–24, the participants were "on their own" but were encouraged to exercise and eat healthy. Focus groups were held at 12 and 24-weeks. Participants were recruited from a nurse managed center and a primary care clinic for the uninsured. Mental health data were collected at baseline, 12, and 24-weeks. The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Version 2 (SF-36v2) was used to measure changes in mental health. Higher scores indicate better perceived health status. Group scores less than 47 indicate impaired functioning. Findings 55 women had complete data for all three data collection points, with a mean age of 50 and a mean BMI of 41.2. Repeated ANOVAs detected significant differences on the mental component summary of the SF-36v2: this score improved from baseline (M = 44.1) to 12-weeks (M = 50.7) but decreased at 24-weeks (M = 47.9) (p = .000). The four domains (vitality, social functioning, role emotional, mental health) were also significantly different over the three data collection points. Implications The findings have significant implications for psychiatric nurses in terms of education, clinical practice, and future research. The study contributed to the participants' mental health through the various group activities including scripture readings, socialization with "like minded" women and structured exercises. These findings offer psychiatric nurses additional tools for effective care.
Dynamic graphics using quasi parallelism

Dynamic computer graphics is best represented as several processes operating in parallel. Full parallel processing, however, entails much complex mechanism making it difficult to write simple, intuitive programs for generating computer animation. What is presented in this paper is a simple means of attaining the appearance of parallelism and the ability to program the graphics in a conceptually parallel fashion without the complexity of a more general parallel mechanism. Each entity on the display screen can be independently programmed to move, turn, change size, color or shape and to interact with other entities.The scheme presented herein begins with the notion of a quantum of time, or tick, within which there are no ordering constraints on events. Each entity or actor decides what it must do upon the next tick. Ticks are a powerful means of controlling parallel processes but are usually at too low a conceptual level for user convenience. Higher-level operations built upon the tick mechanism are presented, most notably the ability to instruct any entity or group of entities to gradually change or move at a rate that is itself changeable by the same operation. To illustrate these ideas a simple celestial mechanics simulation is presented. Upon each tick the velocities and positions of the objects are updated by the gravitational and propulsive forces acting upon them.Ticks are only one product of an object-oriented programming style. For the best control and the most modularity, graphics programming should be object oriented. Each object displayed, and its parts, should be independently programable. Instead of being passive data, objects should be responsible for the changes in their position or appearance. Instead of a global controller, each object should interact with the others.
Flow simulation in a 3D model of pig airways and connection to lung sounds

Fundamental to the understanding of the various transport processes within the respiratory system, airway fluid dynamics plays an important role in biomedical research. When air flows through the respiratory tract, it is constantly changing direction through a complex system of curved and bifurcating tubes. As a result, numerical simulations of the airflow through this tracheobronchial system must be capable of resolving such fluid dynamic phenomena as flow separation, recirculation, secondary flows due to centrifugal instabilities, and shear stress variation along the airway surface. Anatomic complexities within the tracheobronchial tree, such as sharp carinal regions at asymmetric bifurcations, have motivated the application of the incompressible Computational Fluid Dynamics code PHI3D to the modeling of airflow. Developed at ORNL, PHI3D implements the new Continuity Constraint Method. Using a finite-element methodology, complex geometries can be easily simulated with PHI3D using unstructured grids. A time- accurate integration scheme allows the simulation of both transient and steady-state flows. A realistic geometry model of the central airways for the fluid flow studies was obtained from pig lungs using a new high resolution x-ray computed tomography system developed at ORNL for generating 3D images of the internal structure of laboratory animals.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Topology and the solution of linear systems

Abstract The concepts of linear graph theory are applied to the study of feedback systems. Two topological matrices, called the exit and entrance matrices, are defined and the transmission matrix of the system is expressed in terms of these matrices. The properties of these matrices are examined, and a relation between nonsingular submatrices and nontouching feedback loops is established.Graph theory and the theory of determinants allow a rigorous proof of Mason's general gain formula. A systematic method, based on the topological formulas derived in the paper, of finding all forward paths and feedback loops without drawing the graph of the feedback system is demonstrated.
Some examples of simulation model validation using hypothesis testing

The use of hypothesis testing with cost-risk analysis is illustrated for simulation model validation by two examples. In the first example, Hotelling's two-sample T2 test with cost-risk analysis is used for illustrating the validation of a multivariate response self-driven steady-state simulation model representing a single server M/M/1 queueing system. In the second example, the validation of a multivariate response trace-driven terminating simulation model representing an M/M/1 system is illustrated by the use of Hotelling's one-sample T2 test with cost-risk analysis.
A Quiet Revolution or a Flashy Blip? The Real ID Act and U.S. National Identification System Reform

In 2005, Congress passed the Real ID Act despite decades of stalemate in reforming the U.S. national ID system. Using John Kingdon’s policy streams framework, the authors examine the development of reform ideas, the opening of a policy window and the shift in the national mood after the 9/11 attacks, and the legislative tactics by the George W. Bush administration that led to the passage of the act. The analysis illustrates the significance of policy entrepreneurship in national crises but also raises questions about the permanency of policy reforms and the ethical responsibilities of public administrators in such times.
Metal retention in a thin karstic soil, Christian County, Missouri

The response of a Wilderness cherty loam series soil to repeated dosages of metals (as sewage sludge) using a two-step sequential extraction procedure was investigated. Variations in metal content between amended and control soils were related to organic matter, clay content, and clay mineralogy. Of the four metals investigated, Cu was found to accumulate in the top 20 cm of amended soils; Pb and Zn were present in even smaller amounts with respect to the control soils, and Cr concentrations were unaffected with respect to both depth and amendment. None of the metals indicated accumulation in deeper (>20 cm) parts of the soil profile. Overall, results suggest that the metals remobilize in the top 20 cm, being readily uptaken by the fescue grass growing in this lot. Precipitation of insoluble forms of metal into deeper parts of the soil profile was proven unlikely based on the distribution of metal concentrations throughout the profile.
Perceived racism in relation to weight change in the Black Women's Health Study

Purpose Obesity is more common in black women than in white women. Racial discrimination is a form of chronic stress that may influence weight. Methods We assessed the association of perceived racism with weight change between 1997 and 2005 in 43,103 women from the Black Women's Health Study, a prospective follow-up of U.S. black women aged 21–69 years at entry in 1995. Eight questions about perceptions and experiences of racism were asked in 1997 from which two summary variables were created: everyday racism (e.g., how often do people act “as if you are not intelligent?”), and lifetime racism (e.g., unfair treatment due to race “on the job”). Mixed linear regression models were used to calculate the multivariate adjusted means for changes in body weight across categories of perceived racism. Results Weight gain increased as levels of everyday and lifetime racism increased. The mean multivariable-adjusted difference in weight change between the highest and the lowest quartile of everyday racism was 0.56 kg. The mean difference comparing the highest category of lifetime racism to the lowest was 0.48 kg. Conclusion These prospective data suggest that experiences of racism may contribute to the excess burden of obesity in U.S. black women.
Dynamic modelling of saturable reactor for HVDC applications

Experimental development of dynamic models for the saturable reactor for HVDC applications was made by taking account of the effects of the eddy-current, the air gap, and the nonlinear magnetisation of the cores of the 3% grain-oriented silicon steels used. The experimentally developed models were confirmed by comparing them to measurements with regard to step current, rate of change of the reactor current, and the current reversal as a result of the oscillations between the storage capacitance and the equivalent inductance of the saturable reactor. The magnetising inductances and the rules for approaching saturation of the cores were determined from actual static magnetisation curves, corrected according to the core geometry and the size of the air gaps used. The linear relationships between the mean magnetic polarisations and the eddy-current resistance factors, which correspond to the eddy-current resistance for a reactor with a 1-turn exciting coil and a unit core cross-sectional area-to-magnetic path length ratio, were established using a circuit representing the capacitance discharging in typical HVDC applications. The work presented simplifies the optimisation process, which aims to minimise the reactor cost and losses, but without compromising the safe protection of the semiconductors for HVDC applications.
Cortical plasticity for visuospatial processing and object recognition in deaf and hearing signers

Experience-dependent plasticity in deaf participants has been shown in a variety of studies focused on either the dorsal or ventral aspects of the visual system, but both systems have never been investigated in concert. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated functional plasticity for spatial processing (a dorsal visual pathway function) and for object processing (a ventral visual pathway function) concurrently, in the context of differing sensory (auditory deprivation) and language (use of a signed language) experience. During scanning, deaf native users of American Sign Language (ASL), hearing native ASL users, and hearing participants without ASL experience attended to either the spatial arrangement of frames containing objects or the identity of the objects themselves. These two tasks revealed the expected dorsal/ventral dichotomy for spatial versus object processing in all groups. In addition, the object identity matching task contained both face and house stimuli, allowing us to examine category-selectivity in the ventral pathway in all three participant groups. When contrasting the groups we found that deaf signers differed from the two hearing groups in dorsal pathway parietal regions involved in spatial cognition, suggesting sensory experience-driven plasticity. Group differences in the object processing system indicated that responses in the face-selective right lateral fusiform gyrus and anterior superior temporal cortex were sensitive to a combination of altered sensory and language experience, whereas responses in the amygdala were more closely tied to sensory experience. By selectively engaging the dorsal and ventral visual pathways within participants in groups with different sensory and language experiences, we have demonstrated that these experiences affect the function of both of these systems, and that certain changes are more closely tied to sensory experience, while others are driven by the combination of sensory and language experience.
Two Days of Dexamethasone Versus 5 Days of Prednisone in the Treatment of Acute Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Study objective Dexamethasone has a longer half-life than prednisone and is well tolerated orally. We compare the time needed to return to normal activity and the frequency of relapse after acute exacerbation in adults receiving either 5 days of prednisone or 2 days of dexamethasone. Methods We randomized adult emergency department patients (aged 18 to 45 years) with acute exacerbations of asthma (peak expiratory flow rate less than 80% of ideal) to receive either 50 mg of daily oral prednisone for 5 days or 16 mg of daily oral dexamethasone for 2 days. Outcomes were assessed by telephone follow-up. Results Ninety-six prednisone and 104 dexamethasone subjects completed the study regimen and follow-up. More patients in the dexamethasone group reported a return to normal activities within 3 days compared with the prednisone group (90% versus 80%; difference 10%; 95% confidence interval 0% to 20%; P =.049). Relapse was similar between groups (13% versus 11%; difference 2%; 95% confidence interval –7% to 11%, P =.67). Conclusion In acute exacerbations of asthma in adults, 2 days of oral dexamethasone is at least as effective as 5 days of oral prednisone in returning patients to their normal level of activity and preventing relapse.
Semantic and subword priming during binocular suppression

In general, stimuli that are familiar and recognizable have an advantage of predominance during binocular rivalry. Recent research has demonstrated that familiar and recognizable stimuli such as upright faces and words in a native language could break interocular suppression faster than their matched controls. In this study, a visible word prime was presented binocularly then replaced by a high-contrast dynamic noise pattern presented to one eye and either a semantically related or unrelated word was introduced to the other eye. We measured how long it took for target words to break from suppression. To investigate word-parts priming, a second experiment also included word pairs that had overlapping subword fragments. Results from both experiments consistently show that semantically related words and words that shared subword fragments were faster to gain dominance compared to unrelated words, suggesting that words, even when interocularly suppressed and invisible, can benefit from semantic and subword priming.
Competition between lactating peromyscus leucopus and juvenile microtus pennsylvanicus

Lactating Peromyscus leucopus , but not their mates, chased and attacked juvenile Microtus pennsylvanicus . The juvenile male Microtus that survived chronic exposure to the female Peromyscus (4 hr/day for 30 days) failed to attain sexual maturity.
Ringworm of the Scalp1: Prolonged Observation, Family Investigation, Cultural and Immunologic Studies in 130 Cases

Ringworm of the scalp offers an interesting field for the study of superficial mycotic infections of the skin for the following reasons: (1) the clinical diagnosis can be established easily by examination under fluorescent light, (2) the time of infection can ordinarily be determined with reasonable exactness, (3) positive cultures can be obtained in almost 100% of the cases of actual ringworm infection, (4) identification of the causative organism can be made by fairly simple techniques, (5) the local reactions in the scalp are ordinarily not appreciably changed by factors of contact dermatitis in untreated patients (as is so frequently the case in ringworm of the feet in adults), and (6) children are not frequently subject to other forms of ringworm infection, and the interpretation of trichophytin tests is somewhat simplified thereby. In the present study certain new data are added and some reports of recent observers in this country
Positive emotion regulation: addressing two myths

To understand positive emotion regulation, researchers and practitioners must consider a person's unique motivation for specific behaviors within each situation rather than making sweeping (and ultimately inaccurate) generalizations. Two myths about the notion of positive emotion regulation are addressed. Our thesis is that systematic and concerted attention to context will ensure that the wisdom of emotion regulation is more accessible, generalizable, and useful.
Text data acquisition for domain-specific language models

The language modeling community is showing a growing interest in using large collections of text mined from the World Wide Web (WWW) to supplement sparse in-domain text resources. However, in most cases the style and content of the text harvested from these corpora differs significantly from the specific nature of these domains. In this paper we present a relative entropy (r.e.) based method to select relevant subsets of sentences whose distribution in an n-gram sense matches the domain of interest. Using simulations, we provide an analysis of how the proposed scheme outperforms filtering techniques proposed in recent language modeling literature on mining text from the web. A comparative study is presented using a text collection of over 800M words collected from the WWW. Experimental results show that by using the proposed subset selection scheme we can get performance improvement in both Word Error Rate (WER) and Perplexity (PPL) over the models built from the entire collection by using just 10% of the data. Improvements in data selection also translated to a significant reduction in the vocabulary size as well as the number of estimated parameters in the adapted language model.
Are thin film physical structures fractals

Abstract The columnar physical structures commonly found in vapor-deposited thin films have been classified by several variations of what have been termed structure zone models. Perhaps the most interesting feature of these various models is their universal application to apparently all film materials and deposition processes. A structural self-similarity over a wide range of film thicknesses, preparation conditions, and materials types appear to be pointing toward a common origin. Reasons will be presented as to why thin films may be fractals and the consequence of this suggestion to understanding the origin and evolution of thin film physical structure. In particular, recent ballistic aggregation computer models provide a promising avenue of research.
The Neurovascular Unit in Health and Disease: Introduction

Over the past 10 years, study of the blood vessel in cerebrovascular disease has expanded from consideration of only endothelial cells to include interactions with neurons, astrocytes, pericytes, and extracellular matrix. The role of other cells in the pathobiology of cerebral blood vessels has been encompassed under the term “neurovascular unit (NVU).” This session brings together a series of papers on the role of the NVU in stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. The endothelial cell remains central to the NVU, but its function is regulated by input from adjacent pericytes, astrocytes, and neurons.1 The extracellular matrix and the matrix-degrading enzymes and inhibitors play a key role at the basal lamina and the cell surface in the regulation of cell signaling.2 Much has been learned about the function of astrocytes, which rapidly transduce information between the microenvironment and other brain cells and the macrophage-like pericytes in effecting changes at the cerebral capillary level. The presentations were arranged to emphasize recent advances in our understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the NVU (Lo), recent studies on the astrocytes (Nedergaard), and pericytes (Fisher). The final 2 presentations describe the role of extracellular matrix enzymes in amyloid metabolism as it relates to Alzheimer disease (Lee) and vascular cognitive impairment (Rosenberg). The goal of the session was to provide an overview on the role of the separate cell types composing the NVU and to show how they interact in acute and chronic cerebrovascular diseases. Transgenic …
Multiple NF-κB Enhancer Elements Regulate Cytokine Induction of the Human Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Gene

The human inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene is overexpressed in a number of human inflammatory diseases. Previously, we observed that the human iNOS gene is transcriptionally regulated by cytokines and demonstrated that the cytokine-responsive regions are upstream of -3.8 kilobase pairs (kb). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to further localize the functional enhancer elements and to assess the role of the transcription factor NF-kappaB in both human liver (AKN-1) and human lung (A549) epithelial cell lines. The addition of NF-kappaB inhibitors significantly suppressed cytokine-stimulated iNOS mRNA expression and NO synthesis, indicating that NF-kappaB is involved in the induction of the human iNOS gene. Analysis of the first 4.7 kb of the 5'-flanking region demonstrated basal promoter activity and failed to show any cytokine-inducible activity. However, promoter constructs extending to -5.8 and -7.2 kb revealed 2-3-fold and 4-5-fold induction, respectively, in the presence of cytokines. DNA sequence analysis from -3.8 to -7.2 kb identified five putative NF-kappaB cis-regulatory transcription factor binding sites upstream of -4.7 kb. Site-directed mutagenesis of these sites revealed that the NF-kappaB motif at -5.8 kb is required for cytokine-induced promoter activity, while the sites at -5.2, -5.5, and -6.1 kb elicit a cooperative effect. Electromobility shift assays using a site-specific oligonucleotide and nuclear extracts from cells stimulated with cytokine-mixture, tumor necrosis factor-alpha or interleukin-1beta, but not interferon-gamma, exhibited inducible DNA binding activity for NF-kappaB. These data indicate that NF-kappaB activation is required for cytokine induction of the human iNOS gene and identifies four NF-kappaB enhancer elements upstream in the human iNOS promoter that confer inducibility to tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1beta.
Mechanisms of triple-shape polymeric composites due to dual thermal transitions

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a class of smart materials capable of fixing a temporary shape and recovering the permanent shape in response to environmental stimuli such as heat, electricity, irradiation, moisture, or magnetic field, among others. Recently, multi-shape SMPs, which are capable of fixing more than one temporary shape and recovering sequentially from one temporary shape to another and eventually to the permanent shape, have attracted increasing attention. In general, there are two approaches to achieve a multi-shape memory effect (m-SME): the first one requires the SMP to have a broad temperature range of thermomechanical transition, such as a broad glass transition. The second approach uses multiple transitions to achieve m-SME, most notably, using two distinct transition temperatures to obtain a triple-shape memory effect (t-SME). The recently reported approach for designing and fabricating triple-shape polymeric composites (TSPCs) provides a much larger degree of design flexibility by separately tuning the two functional components (matrix and fiber network) to achieve optimum control of properties. The triple-shape memory behavior demonstrated by a TSPC is studied in this paper. This composite is composed of an epoxy matrix, providing a rubber–glass transition to fix one temporary shape, and an interpenetrating crystallizable PCL fiber network providing the system the melt–crystal transition to fix a second temporary shape. A one-dimension (1D) model that combines viscoelasticity for amorphous shape memory polymers (the matrix) with a constitutive model for crystallizable shape memory polymers (the fiber network) is developed to describe t-SME. The model includes the WLF and Arrhenius equations to describe the glass transition of the matrix, and the kinetics of crystallization and melting of the fiber network. The assumption that the newly formed crystalline phase of the fiber network is initially in a stress-free state is used to model the mechanics of evolving crystallizable phases. Experiments including uniaxial tension, stress relaxation, and triple-shape memory testing were carried out for parameter identification. The model accurately captures t-SME exhibited in experiments. The stress and stored energy analysis during the shape memory cycle provides insight into the mechanisms of shape fixing for the two different temporary shapes, the nature of both recovery events, as well as a guidance on how to design transitions to achieve the desired behavior.
The Relative Importance of Journals Used in Management Research: An Alternative Ranking

The journals which contribute most to management research are identified and ranked based upon the number of citations they received during a recent four-year period in the two top management journals, Administrative Science Quarterly and The Academy of Management Journal. Rankings are provided based upon total citations, citations per article published annually, and citations per 10,000 words published annually. A final ranking of just the top ten management journals is based upon the last criterion.
Creative Drama in the General Music Classroom: An Integrated Approach for Intermediate Students

The following article provides strategies and suggestions for integrating creative drama into the general music classroom. Various learning theories and basic theatre concepts will be discussed. Integrating music and drama can be an engaging tool for various types of learners. The author provides a sample process drama lesson on Civil Rights through the book When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan.
Evaluating the effect of assay preparation on the uptake of gold nanoparticles by RAW264.7 cells.

Cell culture conditions can greatly influence the results of nanoparticle (NP) uptake assays. In this study, 10 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and RAW 264.7 macrophages were used as a model system, while instrumental neutron activation analysis (NAA) was used as the elemental analysis technique to determine AuNP levels produced by the various culturing conditions. Static plate-based and insert-based culture conditions were compared with a dynamic suspension culture to evaluate the conditions’ effect on the rate and extent of AuNP uptake. The results indicate that a dynamic culturing condition allows for the greatest NP uptake (approximately 3-5 times over the adherent conditions), whereas the plate-based assays have the initial highest rate of NP incorporation. These data highlight the importance of judiciously choosing the assay conditions prior to evaluating NP uptake.
Social conceptual impairments in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with right anterior temporal hypometabolism

Inappropriate social behaviours are early and distinctive symptoms of the temporal and frontal variants of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Knowledge of social behaviour is essential for appropriate social conduct. It is unknown, however, in what way this knowledge is degraded in FTLD. In a recent functional MRI study, we have identified a right-lateralized superior anterior temporal lobe (aTL) region showing selective activation for ‘social concepts’ (i.e. concepts describing social behaviour: e.g. ‘polite’, ‘stingy’) as compared with concepts describing less socially relevant animal behaviour (‘animal function concepts’: e.g. ‘trainable’, ‘nutritious’). In a further fMRI study, superior aTL activation was independent of the context of actions and feelings associated with these social concepts. Here, we investigated whether the right superior sector of the aTL is necessary for context-independent knowledge of social concepts. We assessed neuronal glucose uptake using 18-fluoro-deoxy-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and a novel semantic discrimination task which probed knowledge of social and animal function concepts in patients with FTLD (n = 29) and corticobasal syndrome (n = 18). FTLD and corticobasal syndrome groups performed equally poorly on animal function concepts but FTLD patients showed more pronounced impairments on social concepts than corticobasal syndrome patients. FTLD patients with right superior aTL hypometabolism, as determined on individual ROI analyses, were significantly more impaired on social concepts than on animal function concepts. FTLD patients with selective impairments for social concepts, as determined on individual neuropsychological profiles, showed higher levels of inappropriate social behaviours (‘disinhibition’) and demonstrated more pronounced hypometabolism in the right superior aTL, the left temporal pole and the right lateral orbitofrontal and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex as compared with FTLD patients showing selective impairments of animal function concepts. Combining both FTLD subgroup analyses, based on anatomical and neuropsychological criteria, by using inclusive masks, revealed the right superior aTL as associated with selective impairments of social concepts in both analyses. These results corroborate the hypothesis that the right aTL is necessary for representing conceptual social knowledge. Further, we provide first evidence for the potential importance of conceptual social knowledge impairments as contributing to behavioural symptoms of FTLD.
Transport of Sequence-Specific RNA Interference Information Between Cells

When eukaryotic cells encounter double-stranded RNA, genes of matching sequence are silenced through RNA interference. Surprisingly, in some animals and plants, the same gene is specifically silenced even in cells that did not encounter the double-stranded RNA, due to the transport of a gene-specific silencing signal between cells. This silencing signal likely has an RNA component that gives it sequence-specificity, however its precise identity remains unknown. Studies in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans and in plants have revealed parts of a complex protein machinery that transports this silencing signal. Some of these proteins are conserved in vertebrates, including mammals, raising the possibility that higher animals can communicate gene-specific silencing information between cells. Such communication provides antiviral immunity in plants and perhaps in C. elegans. Identifying the transported silencing signal and deciphering the evolutionarily selected role of the transport machinery are some of the key challenges for the future.
Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction and Atomic Force Microscopy Studies of MnxSc(1-x) Alloys Grown on MgO(001) Substrates by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

The combination of the molecular beam epitaxy growth method with the in-situ reflection high energy electron diffraction measurements currently offers unprecedented control of crystalline growth materials. We present here a stoichiometric study of MnxSc(1-x) [x = 0, 0.03, 0.05, 0.15, 0.25, 0.35, and 0.50] thin films grown on MgO(001) substrates with this growth method. Reflection high energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy measurements reveal alloy behavior for all of our samples. In addition, we found that samples Mn0.10Sc0.90 and Mn0.50Sc0.50 display surface self-assembled nanowires with a length/width ratio of ~ 800 – 2000.
COL4A1 mutations in patients with sporadic late-onset intracerebral hemorrhage.

Objective: Mutations in the type IV collagen alpha 1 gene (COL4A1) cause dominantly inherited cerebrovascular disease. We seek to determine the extent to which COL4A1 mutations contribute to sporadic, nonfamilial, intracerebral hemorrhages (ICHs). Methods: We sequenced COL4A1 in 96 patients with sporadic ICH. The presence of putative mutations was tested in 145 ICH-free controls. The effects of rare coding variants on COL4A1 biosynthesis were compared to previously validated mutations that cause porencephaly, small vessel disease, and hereditary angiopathy, nephropathy, aneurysms, and cramps (HANAC) syndrome. Results: We identified 2 rare nonsynonymous variants in ICH patients that were not detected in controls, 2 rare nonsynonymous variants in controls that were not detected in patients, and 2 common nonsynonymous variants that were detected in patients and controls. No variant found in controls affected COL4A1 biosynthesis. Both variants (COL4A1 P352L and COL4A1 R538G ) found only in patients changed conserved amino acids and impaired COL4A1 secretion much like mutations that cause familial cerebrovascular disease. Interpretation: This is the first assessment of the broader role for COL4A1 mutations in the etiology of ICH beyond a contribution to rare and severe familial cases and the first functional evaluation of the biosynthetic consequences of an allelic series of COL4A1 mutations that cause cerebrovascular disease. We identified 2 putative mutations in 96 patients with sporadic ICH and showed that these and other previously validated mutations inhibit secretion of COL4A1. Our data support the hypothesis that increased intracellular accumulation of COL4A1, decreased extracellular COL4A1, or both, contribute to sporadic cerebrovascular disease and ICH. ANN NEUROL 2012;71:470–477
Asthma Phenotypes, Risk Factors, and Measures of Severity in a National Sample of US Children

Objective To examine a nationally representative sample of US children aged 6 to 16 years old and determine whether there are differences in risk factors and measures of severity between children with different asthma phenotypes. Methods We analyzed data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We used questionnaire and skin-prick testing data to separate children into the following mutually exclusive categories: atopic asthma, nonatopic asthma, resolved asthma, frequent respiratory symptoms with no asthma diagnosis, and normal. We used multivariate regression to determine whether demographic or potential risk factors varied between phenotypes and whether measures of severity varied by phenotype. Results We found that 4.8% of children had atopic asthma, 1.9% had nonatopic asthma, 3.4% had resolved asthma, and 4.3% had frequent respiratory symptoms. Risk factors varied by phenotype, for example, the mean BMI was higher among children with nonatopic asthma, prenatal maternal smoking was a risk factor for resolved asthma, and child care attendance was a risk factor for frequent respiratory symptoms with no asthma diagnosis. Patients with atopic and nonatopic asthma were similar for most measures of asthma severity (medication use, health status, and lung function impairment). In contrast, patients with resolved asthma had fewer symptoms but a similar level of lung function impairment to that seen in patients with current asthma, whereas children with frequent respiratory symptoms but no asthma diagnosis had normal lung function. Conclusions Asthma risk factors and measures of severity vary between children with different asthma phenotypes.