cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conditional Ablation of β1 Integrin in Skin: Severe Defects in Epidermal Proliferation, Basement Membrane Formation, and Hair Follicle Invagination

The major epidermal integrins are α3β1 and hemidesmosome-specific α6β4; both share laminin 5 as ligand. Keratinocyte culture studies implicate both integrins in adhesion, proliferation, and stem cell maintenance and suggest unique roles for αβ1 integrins in migration and terminal differentiation. In mice, however, whereas ablation of α6 or β4 results in loss of hemidesmosomes, epidermal polarity, and basement membrane (BM) attachment, ablation of α3 only generates microblistering due to localized internal shearing of BM. Using conditional knockout technology to ablate β1 in skin epithelium, we have uncovered biological roles for αβ1 integrins not predicted from either the α3 knockout or from in vitro studies. In contrast to α3 null mice, β1 mutant mice exhibit severe skin blistering and hair defects, accompanied by massive failure of BM assembly/organization, hemidesmosome instability, and a failure of hair follicle keratinocytes to remodel BM and invaginate into the dermis. Although epidermal proliferation is impaired, a spatial and temporal program of terminal differentiation is executed. These results indicate that β1's minor partners in skin are important, and together, αβ1 integrins are required not only for extracellular matrix assembly but also for BM formation. This, in turn, is required for hemidesmosome stability, epidermal proliferation, and hair follicle morphogenesis. However, β1 downregulation does not provide the trigger to terminally differentiate.
45nm-generation parameter-specific ring oscillator monitors

Experimental results are reported for ring oscillators (ROs) fabricated using 45nm generation CMOS technology and inverter layouts that are designed to identify and quantify sources of circuit performance variation due to gate etch/lithography, gate-to-active misalignment, and CESL-induced stress. The measured RO frequency data show that within-chip variation is negligible in comparison with chip-to-chip variation. Standard-deviation over mean (σ/μ) values among 36 RO instances show a slight channel area dependence of 0.2% versus sqrt(area) -1 . For a typical wafer, 3% RO frequency change due to gate etch/focus variations, 2-3nm overlay error, and a 5% increase by doubling the length of diffusion (LOD) can be measured.
Social class and the schizophrenogenic mother concept.

The TAT was administered to 26 mothers of schizophrenic children and 26 mothers of normal children. Both mothers and children were matched on a number of variables. Ss within each group were categorized as upper, middle or working class. Each story was judged pathogenic, benign, or unscorable by two clinicians. A pathogenic score was tabulated for each S from the formula: pathogenic/pathogenic plus benign. The main effect of children's diagnosis and the interaction of diagnosis and social class significantly influenced the type of story.
Spleen protection in gamma- and neutron-irradiated mice.

Summary1. Young adult female CF No. 1 mice were irradiated with single whole-body exposures of fission neutrons with dose range sufficient to kill 20 to 90% in 30 days. Four spleens from 2-week-old mice were implanted into body cavities of half this group; the remaining mice served as sham-operated controls. 2. Spleens gave no obvious protection to these neutron-irradiated mice: There was no significant difference in either body weight loss or in 30-day mortality between spleen-implanted and sham-operated groups. 3. Implanted spleens provided some protection to similar mice exposed to single doses of Co60 γ-rays in the 30-day lethal range. 4. Failure of implanted spleens to protect neutron-irradiated mice may be correlated with early (4-10 day) mode of mortality following single doses of fission neutrons. 5. It seems probable that radiation with fast neutrons of different energies may give different results after treatment with blood-forming cells.
Accumulation of Phosphorylated tau in neurites is the earliest cytoskeletal abnormality in aging and Alzheimer's disease

Wei Qian, Hongwei Liang, Jianhua Shi, Jianlan Gu, Xiaolin Wu, Shibao Wang, Cheng-Xin Gong, Fei Liu, Department of Biochemistry, Medical School, Nantong University, Nantong, China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Medical School, Nantong University, Nantong, China; Department of Neurochemistry, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, USA. Contact e-mail: weiqianhuang@hotmail.com
Teaching future K-8 teachers the language of Newton: A case study of collaboration and change in university physics teaching

This interpretive case study describes a collaborative project involving a physics professor and a science educator. We report what was learned about factors that influenced the professor's development of teaching strategies, alternative to lecture, that were intended to promote prospective teachers' meaningful learning and their use of canonical ways of communicating physics concepts. We describe how the professor's beliefs influenced the pedagogy that he used to communicate the language of physics and the nature of what was communicated. We also report how our collaboration fostered change as we developed a shared language that allowed us to discuss how students learn and to explicate the referent beliefs that supported the professor's practices. We found that focused reflection on referent beliefs led to a change in the manner in which the professor communicated with the prospective teachers. Traditional lecture pedagogy focused the professor's concern on how he was teaching evolved toward a pedagogy that focused on how students were learning. Classroom interactions were increased with a primary goal of orchestrating a discourse of physics initiated in the language already accessible to the prospective teachers. This change in the manner that classroom interactions occurred provided opportunities for the prospective teachers' language to evolve toward eventually communicating their ideas in canonical physics language. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed88:947–969, 2004
Cognitive abilities and self-rated health: Is there a relationship? Is it growing? Does it explain disparities?

Abstract Although social epidemiologists have recently turned to the role of cognitive abilities in health, the ensuing debate has been largely speculative and numerous questions remain unanswered. Epidemiologists have speculated in three key areas: (i) whether cognitive abilities are associated with health; (ii) whether the association is growing; and (iii) whether cognitive abilities explain disparities. Using the cumulative 1974–2000 General Social Survey, this paper explores these questions using self-rated health as an outcome and a test of verbal ability as an indicator of cognitive abilities. On the one hand, the results suggest a significant and strictly monotonic association between verbal ability (with scores ranging from 0 to 10) and self-rated health. The association has been consistently strong since 1974; there is no evidence for a growing association. On the other hand, the results provide little to no evidence that verbal ability explains disparities. In multivariate models, the coefficients for income and education are reduced by only a small fraction with the introduction of controls for verbal ability (5 and 16%, respectively) and the relationship between verbal ability and self-rated health is, itself, very sensitive to controls for socioeconomic status. Furthermore, verbal ability cannot account for black–white differences in self-rated health: interaction-effect analyses indicate that, conditional on socioeconomic status, verbal ability has no discernable association with self-rated health among African Americans. Altogether, the results suggest that cognitive abilities are related to self-rated health, but also that cognitive abilities will do very little to explain disparities and may have benefits that are limited mostly—and sometimes entirely—to whites. The results are inconsistent with much of the previous speculation regarding cognitive abilities, but consistent with research on health’s “fundamental” causes and, more generally, with sociological research on the role of cognitive abilities in the process of stratification.
Aspects of Selective Adsorption among Oxidized Sulfur Compounds in Fossil Fuels

Solid adsorbents were tested for adsorbing oxidized sulfur compounds to identify a selective adsorbent for completion of an oxidative process that was enhanced by ultrasound irradiation. Therefore, the advantages of both oxidative and adsorptive desulfurization have been put together for an upgraded system. Gas chromatograms from a gas chromatograph-sulfur chemiluminescence detector (GC-SCD) evaluate the efficiency and selectivity of different adsorbents on different model sulfur compounds. As a single adsorbent, acidic alumina adsorbs 5.7 mg sulfur/g of alumina from an oxidized refractory sulfur compound. Acidic alumina is capable of maintaining its capacity at more than 98% after calcining for regeneration. Adsorption studies were carried out to find the effect of particle size and surface area along with the pore size of each adsorbent. Acidic alumina shows promising results as an adsorbent in the ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization (UAOD) process to achieve ultralow sulfur fuel (ULSF).
The effect of dissolved magnesium on diffusion creep in calcite

We experimentally tested a series of synthetic calcite marbles with varying amounts of dissolved magnesium in a standard triaxial deformation machine at 300 MPa confining pressure, temperatures between 700 and 850°C, stresses between 2 and 100 MPa, and strain rates between 10−7 and 10−3 s−1. The samples were fabricated by hot isostatic pressing of a mixture of calcite and dolomite at 850°C and 300 MPa. The fabrication protocol resulted in a homogeneous, fine-grained high-magnesian calcite aggregate with minimal porosity and with magnesium contents between 0.07 and 0.17 mol% MgCO3. At stresses below 40 MPa the samples deformed with linear viscosity that depended inversely on grain size to the 3.26±0.51 power, suggesting that the mechanisms of deformation were some combination of grain boundary diffusion and grain boundary sliding. Because small grain sizes tended to occur in the high-magnesium calcite, the strength also appeared to vary inversely with magnesium content. However, the strength at constant grain size does not depend on the amount of dissolved magnesium, and thus, the impurity effect seems to be indirect. At stresses higher than 40 MPa, the aggregates become non-linearly viscous, a regime we interpret to be dislocation creep. The transition between the two regimes depends on grain size, as expected. The activation energy for diffusion creep is 200±30 kJ/mol and is quite similar to previous measurements in natural and synthetic marbles deformed at similar conditions with no added magnesium.
The effect of verbal mediators on the pictorial memory of brain-damaged patients.

Abstract Patients with alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome, Huntington's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease or right-hemisphere damage were administered a picture recognition task in which they attempted to associate specific human and animal figures with particular scenic backgrounds. Under one condition (no-story), no explicit verbal cues were provided to help the patients associate the figures with the scenes; in a second condition, stories linking the figures to the background scenes were read to the patients during the study period. Although all four patient groups were impaired in picture-context recognition under the no-story condition, the groups differed significantly in their ability to use the stories to improve their pictorial memory. The Huntington and right-hemisphere patient's picture recognition showed significant improvement when stories were provided, whereas the Korsakoff and Alzheimer patients failed to use this verbal material in a productive manner. The groups also differed in their tendency to make intrusion (i.e., perservative) errors on the picture-context recognition task. These group differences may be related to the combination of language, cognitive and motivational deficits associated with each disease.
Long Lines, Voting Machine Availability, and Turnout: The Case of Franklin County, Ohio in the 2004 Presidential Election

Within polling places, does the scarcity of voting machines cause longer lines and thereby dissuade some people from voting? Are voting machines scarce in some areas because turnout would be low, irrespective of the availability of voting machines? In Ohio in the aftermath of the 2004 presidential election, the answers to these questions carried very real and significant political stakes. Consider the following from Franklin County, the second most populous county in the state. In precincts where voting machines were plentiful (i.e., where there were fewer registrants per available voting machine), turnout was especially high and John Kerry's share of the presidential vote was low. In contrast, in areas of machine scarcity (i.e., precincts with many registrants per available voting machine), turnout was lower and Kerry's vote share was higher. These relationships are shown in Figures 1A and 1B. Given the strong association between machine availability and the Kerry vote, if machine (un)availability was a cause of (low) turnout, then Kerry may very well have received fewer votes than he would have had more machines been available or had the distribution of available machines been less skewed toward precincts that were more supportive of George W. Bush.I appreciate input from SSRC Commission members Henry Brady, Martha Kropf, Walter R. Mebane, Jr., and Michael Traugott with whom I collaborated on the SSRC's “Interim Report on Alleged Irregularities in the United States Presidential Election of 2 November 2004” (Brady et al. 2004). I also thank Benjamin Bishin for comments on the paper. The Social Science Research Council and its staff, including Jason McNichol, Dashiell Flynn, and Sarah Alexander, provided generous support for this work. The views expressed in this paper are not necessarily shared by other SSRC Commission members or the Social Science Research Council.
Induced Postharvest Yellowing in Southern U.S. Rice Cultivars

ABSTRACT Rice can yellow during storage if moisture levels and temperatures are allowed to increase. This postharvest yellowed (PHY), or stackburn, rice is reduced in value but no study has investigated the inherent potential within rice germplasm for limiting PHY. To screen a large number of cultivars for propensity to PHY, a laboratory method for PHY using a small amount of rice was used. Ninety-eight popular southern U.S. rice cultivars were yellowed under laboratory conditions. Additional samples of the low-yellowing and high-yellowing cultivars were retested after two and three years of storage as rough rice using higher amounts and larger containers. All cultivars showed greater color change with the higher amounts of rice and when yellowed as milled rather than as rough rice. Length of time of storage and storage temperature did not affect the degree of PHY. The low- and high-yellowing groups remained distinguishable but the overall high level of coloring in southern U.S. rice cultivars indicates t...
Comparative Adsorption of Native and Denatured Egg-White, Human, and T4 Phage Lysozymes at the Air-Water Interface

Abstract The kinetics of adsorption of 14C-labeled native, partially denatured, and fully denatured egg-white, human, and T4 phage lysozymes at the air-water interface has been studied using the radiotracer method. The surface concentration of the native and partially denatured lysozymes exhibited negative adsorption during the first 50-100 min of adsorption, followed by a lag period and a rapid positive adsorption at the interface. No negative adsorption was observed in the cases of fully denatured lysozymes and β-casein. The apparent diffusion coefficients of the three native lysozymes were at least an order of magnitude lower than their diffusivity in solution. However, the apparent diffusion coefficient values increased as the lysozymes were progressively denatured. In contrast, the diffusion coefficient of native β-casein was about twofold greater than its solution diffusivity. To account for these observations, a general mechanism for protein adsorption at interfaces is proposed, which invokes that it is the chemical potential gradient emanating from interaction of the interfacial force field with various molecular potentials, such as the hydrophoboc electrostatic, hydration, and conformational (entropic) potentials, rather than concentration gradient alone, that acts as the driving force for adsorption of proteins at interfaces.
Phoenix: a low-power fault-tolerant real-time network-attached storage device

Phoenix is a real-time network-attached storage device (NASD) that guarantees real-time data delivery to network clients even across single disk failure. The service interfaces that Phoenix provides are best-effort/real-time reads/writes based on unique object identifiers and block offsets. Data retrieval from Phoenix can be serviced in server push or client pull modes. Phoenix's real-time disk subsystem performance results from a standard cycle-based scan-order disk scheduling mechanism. However, the disk I/O cycle of Phoenix is either completely active or completely idle. This on-off disk scheduling model effectively reduces the power consumption of the disk subsystem, without increasing the buffer size requirement. Phoenix also exploits unused disk storage space and maintains additional redundancy beyond the generic RAID5-style parity. This extra redundancy, typically in the form of block replication, reduces the time to reconstruct the data on the failed disk. This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of Phoenix, one of the first, if not the first, NASDs that support fault-tolerant, real-time, and low-power network storage service.
Building Bridges: Using the Office Consultation Project to Connect Students to Theory and Practice

Abstract The Office Consultation Project is an innovative capstone project that partners graduate students in student affairs preparation programs with academic and student affairs practitioners. It provides an opportunity for students to apply research and scholarship to practical settings, while giving practitioners new insight into their units, additional work support, and expanded professional networks. The project benefits graduate preparation programs by cultivating cross-divisional networking and increasing campus awareness about the student affairs profession that could generate new practicum and assistantship opportunities.
Room-temperature phosphorescence and fluorescence of selected model aromatic carbonyl compounds adsorbed on several solid surfaces

Abstract Several model aromatic carbonyl compounds, which were adsorbed on various solid surfaces, were examined for room-temperature phosphorescence and fluorescence. The results showed that it was important to investigate several surfaces to obtain optimal luminescence conditions for this class of compounds. In addition, the luminescence of some of the compounds was relatively sensitive to experimental conditions. Finally, both room-temperature fluorescence and room-temperature phosphorescence were shown to be analytically useful.
Station Keeping in the Plane with Range-Only Measurements

Using concepts from switched adaptive control theory, provably correct solution is given to the three landmark station keeping problem in the plane in which range measurements are the only sensed signals upon which station keeping is to be based. The performance of the resulting system degrades gracefully in the face of measurement and miss- alignment errors, provided the measurement errors are not too large.
Rapid Growth Rates of Syndepositional Marine Aragonite Cements in Steep Marginal Slope Deposits, Bahamas and Belize

ABSTRACT Growth rates of marine botryoidal aragonite cements from steep (35-45°) marginal slope deposits in the Bahamas and Belize have been determined by accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon dating of samples taken at the base and top of individual botryoids. The pore-filling cements, which range from approximately 11,000-13,000 years old, grew at average rates of 8-10 mm/100 yr with maximum rates > 25 mm/100 yr. Radiocarbon dating of coexisting skeletal components indicates that cementation was syndepositional. Microsampling transects across individual botryoids for stable-isotope analyses show little variation in 13C and 18O, supporting the conclusion that cementation was extremely rapid. Although the cements show a progressive depletion in isotopic composition of approximately 1 (13C) and 2 (18O) from 13 ka to 11 ka, the average variation (1) within individual por -filling cements, ranging in size from 2 mm to 32 mm (bottom to top), was 0.11 (13C) and 0.14 (18O). Results of this study provide the first quantitative data on growth rates of marine carbonate cements in a marginal slope environment. The data indicate that marginal slope deposits may lithify within several tens of years and suggest that "geologically instantaneous" cementation may be critical in stabilizing steep carbonate slope deposits at or above angles of repose.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FROM A COMPLEXITY PERSPECTIVE

To stimulate sustained leadership development, a holistic model is described that incorporates emotional and neuroendocrine aspects of learning, as well as behavioral change. Intentional change theory, developed over 20 years utilizing longitudinal studies of competency development and complexity theory, can expand our impact on leadership development.
The Role of Hypermedia Cases on Preservice Teachers' Views of Reading Instruction

Abstract This article examines the impact of Reading Classroom Explorer (RCE), a video-based hypermedia tool, on preservice students' reasoning, specifically upon the ways in which they are able to use evidence to support claims about teaching reading in course papers. in this study, RCE was an integral part of a preservice methods course and one resource, of many, that was available to consider when writing about literacy issues. The study indicates that preservice teachers use the video cases in RCE as an information resource, much like books they read, lectures they hear in courses, or observations they make. Students used RCE to varying degrees, for investing in, complying with, or resisting the technology. Future research will investigate the impact of RCE in collaborative settings.
Measurement of breast volume in females: description of a reliable method

SummaryBreast volume measurements were made on 47 adult subjects using a casting method. After drying, fast-setting plaster casts were filled with sand of known density to a level approximating the curvature of the chest wall. The reliability of both sand filling and casting proved to be high, r = 0·97, and r = 0·99, respectively. The total variable error was 10·2%. The effects of position (standing versus lying) was investigated in a separate sample of 15 subjects. No significant difference (P > 0·05) was found between methods. The relationship between breast volume, girths, skinfolds, and body density was reported to be low.
Explaining Some Light Scattering Properties of Milk Using Representative Layer Theory

Milk is an example of a strongly scattering material, as its white colour indicates. For non-scattering samples, the Beer-Lambert law can be used to compute an absorption coefficient for a material...
Bmp2 Is Critical for the Murine Uterine Decidual Response

The process of implantation, necessary for all viviparous birth, consists of tightly regulated events, including apposition of the blastocyst, attachment to the uterine lumen, and differentiation of the uterine stroma. In rodents and primates the uterine stroma undergoes a process called decidualization. Decidualization, the process by which the uterine endometrial stroma proliferates and differentiates into large epithelioid decidual cells, is critical to the establishment of fetal-maternal communication and the progression of implantation. The role of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) in regulating the transformation of the uterine stroma during embryo implantation in the mouse was investigated by the conditional ablation of Bmp2 in the uterus using the (PR-cre) mouse. Bmp2 gene ablation was confirmed by real-time PCR analysis in the PR-cre; Bmp2fl/fl (termed Bmp2d/d) uterus. While littermate controls average 0.9 litter of 6.2 ± 0.7 pups per month, Bmp2d/d females are completely infertile. Analysis of the infertility indicates that whereas embryo attachment is normal in the Bmp2d/d as in control mice, the uterine stroma is incapable of undergoing the decidual reaction to support further embryonic development. Recombinant human BMP2 can partially rescue the decidual response, suggesting that the observed phenotypes are not due to a developmental consequence of Bmp2 ablation. Microarray analysis demonstrates that ablation of Bmp2 leads to specific gene changes, including disruption of the Wnt signaling pathway, Progesterone receptor (PR) signaling, and the induction of prostaglandin synthase 2 (Ptgs2). Taken together, these data demonstrate that Bmp2 is a critical regulator of gene expression and function in the murine uterus.
Embryonic development of the chick primary trigeminal sensory-motor complex.

The objective of this study is to define the development of all components in the chick embryonic trigeminal primary sensory-motor complex, from their first appearance through the formation of central and peripheral axonal projections up to stage 34 (8 days of incubation). This was accomplished by two labeling procedures: application of the monoclonal antibody HNK-1, which binds to the precursors of all these components except the placode-derived neurons, and application of HRP to axons cut immediately distal to the trigeminal ganglion. Single immunopositive motor neuron precursors are present at stage 12. These accumulate in the transient medial motor column, whose neurons initiate axon outgrowth by stage 13–14, concomitant with the onset of translocation of their somata to form the definitive trigeminal lateral motor column (LMC). Intiially these translocating somata accumulate on the medial margin of the LMC. Beginning on incubation day 5, axons growing from newly formed motor neurons pass beside the lateral margin of the LMC, and the nuclei of these cells subsequently follow this pathway. These events follow a rostral-to-caudal sequence, and this phase of motor nucleus formation is complete by day 8. The lateral translocation of some caudally located nuclei is arrested beginning on day 5. This cessation, which proceeds rostrally, demarcates neurons that form the dorsal motor nucleus of the trigeminal complex. Sensory neurite formation is intiated in ophthalmic placode-derived cells at stage 14.5, one stage later by maxillomandibular neurons, and from mesencephalic V cells at stage 15. Neural crest cells do not initiate axon formation until at least day 4 to 5. Following application of HRP distal to the condensing ganglion at stage 16, labeled ophthalmic nerve projections appear in contact with the wall of the hindbrain centrally and overlying the optic vesicle peripherally. Fibers forming the descending tract elongate rapidly, reaching the level of the VIIth nerve root (200 mm caudal to the trigeminal root) by stage 18 and the cervical cord by stage 22. Labeled terminal arborizations of descending trigeminal afferents are first visible at stage 22 and are evident along the entire descending and proximal ascending tracts by stage 27. Later-developing descending axons grow in close association with existing trigeminal fibers, though a few growth cones are consistently evident superficial to the other fibers. No projections different from those reported in adult birds are seen, nor are there any contralateral afferent projections. Peripheral axons from neurons in the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus emerge from the trigeminal ganglion beginning at stage 21. These cells are labeled only when tracer is applied to the mandibular nerve.
Otitis media: a genome-wide linkage scan with evidence of susceptibility loci within the 17q12 and 10q22.3 regions

Background: Otitis media (OM) is a common worldwide pediatric health care problem that is known to be influenced by genetics. The objective of our study was to use linkage analysis to map possible OM susceptibility genes. Methods: Using a stringent diagnostic model in which only those who underwent tympanostomy tube insertion at least once for recurrent/persistent OM are considered affected, we have carried out a genome-wide linkage scan using the 10K Affymetrix SNP panel. We genotyped 403 Caucasian families containing 1,431 genotyped individuals and 377 genotyped affected sib pairs, and 26 African American families containing 75 genotyped individuals and 27 genotyped affected sib pairs. After careful quality control, non-parametric linkage analysis was carried out using 8,802 SNPs. Results: In the Caucasian-only data set, our most significant linkage peak is on chromosome 17q12 at rs226088 with a p-value of 0.00007. Other peaks of potential interest are on 10q22.3 (0.00181 at rs1878001), 7q33 (0.00105 at rs958408), 6p25.1 (0.00261 at rs554653), and 4p15.2 (0.00301 at rs2133507). In the combined Caucasian and African American dataset, the 10q22.3 peak becomes more significant, with a minimal p-value of 0.00026 at rs719871. Family-based association testing reveals signals near previously implicated genes: 513 kb from SFTPA2 (10q22.3), 48 kb from IFNG (12q14), and 870 kb from TNF (6p21.3). Conclusion: Our scan does not provide evidence for linkage in the previously reported regions of 10q26.3 and 19q13.43. Our best-supported linkage regions may contain susceptibility genes that influence the risk for recurrent/persistent OM. Plausible candidates in 17q12 include AP2B1, CCL5, and a cluster of other CCL genes, and in 10q22.3, SFTPA2.
A Large Scale, Multiple Constraint Network System for Design for Testability for Printed Wiring Boards

Design for Testability involves including a consideration of testing in the design of a Printed Wiring Board. This is important in that testing can account for one-third of the manufacturing cost of a Printed Wiring Board (PWB). Testing can also lead to increased manufacturing lead times. Both the cost and lead times associated with testing Printed Wiring Boards can be reduced by using Design for Testability. In this paper the constraining influences from the testing operation are placed in a constraint net form. The architecture of a comprehensive Design for Testability system, called TEST, is presented. This consists of multiple constraint networks that address different perspectives of Design for Testability. TEST has been implemented using the SPARK constraint net system. The implementation and operation of TEST are described. The overall result is a powerful system that gives advice to the designer on improvements that can be made to the design of the PWB so as to improve it’s testability. TEST has a number of advantages: it has a relatively large number of constraints, it is flexible enough to be expanded in a relatively straightforward fashion, it naturally aligns with the overall design process used by the designer without restricting the designer to follow a fixed path, advice is given on improvements that can be made to the design, TEST is bi-directional, and other models, including cost models and manufacturing constraint models, can be readily added.
Resonant acoustic spectroscopy of soft tissues using embedded magnetomotive nanotransducers and optical coherence tomography.

We present a new method for performing dynamic elastography of soft tissue samples. By sensing nanoscale displacements with optical coherence tomography, a chirped, modulated force is applied to acquire the mechanical spectrum of a tissue sample within a few seconds. This modulated force is applied via magnetic nanoparticles, named 'nanotransducers', which are diffused into the tissue, and which contribute negligible inertia to the soft tissue mechanical system. Using this novel system, we observed that excised tissues exhibit mechanical resonance modes which are well described by a linear damped harmonic oscillator. Results are validated by using cylindrical tissue phantoms of agarose in which resonant frequencies (30?400 Hz) are consistent with longitudinal modes and the sample boundary conditions. We furthermore show that the Young's modulus can be computed from their measured resonance frequencies, analogous to resonant ultrasound spectroscopy for stiff material analysis. Using this new technique, named magnetomotive resonant acoustic spectroscopy (MRAS), we monitored the relative stiffening of an excised rat liver during a chemical fixation process.
Spinal cord stimulation modulates intraspinal colorectal visceroreceptive transmission in rats.

Abstract Previous studies have shown that spinal cord stimulation (SCS) of upper lumbar segments decreases visceromotor responses to mechanical stimuli in a sensitized rat colon and reduces symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in patients. SCS applied to the upper cervical spinal dorsal column reduces pain of chronic refractory angina. Further, chemical stimulation of C1–C2 propriospinal neurons in rats modulates the responses of lumbosacral spinal neurons to colorectal distension. The present study was designed to compare the effects of upper cervical and lumbar SCS on activity of lumbosacral neurons receiving noxious colorectal input. Extracellular potentials of L6–S2 spinal neurons were recorded in pentobarbital anesthetized, paralyzed and ventilated male rats. SCS (50 Hz, 0.2 ms) at low intensity (90% of motor threshold) was applied to the dorsal column of upper cervical (C1–C2) or upper lumbar (L2–L3) ipsilateral spinal segments. Colorectal distension (CRD, 20 mmHg, 40 mmHg, 60 mmHg, 20 s) was produced by air inflation of a latex balloon. Results showed that SCS applied to L2–L3 and C1–C2 segments significantly reduced the excitatory responses to noxious CRD from 417.6 ± 68.0 to 296.3 ± 53.6 imp ( P n = 24) and from 336.2 ± 64.5 to 225.0 ± 73.3 imp ( P n = 18), respectively. Effects of L2–L3 and C1–C2 SCS lasted 10.2 ± 1.9 and 8.0 ± 0.9 min after offset of CRD. Effects of SCS were observed on spinal neurons with either high or low-threshold excitatory responses to CRD. However, L2–L3 or C1–C2 SCS did not significantly affect inhibitory neuronal responses to CRD. C1–C2 SCS-induced effects were abolished by cutting the C7–C8 dorsal column but not by spinal transection at cervicomedullary junction. These data demonstrated that upper cervical or lumbar SCS modulated responses of lumbosacral spinal neurons to noxious mechanical stimulation of the colon, thereby, proved two loci for a potential therapeutic effect of SCS in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and other colonic disorders.
Factors Influencing Air Flow Through Unbacked Tufted Carpets

Through-air dryers are widely used for drying unbacked tufted carpets after dyeing- steaming-washing processes. Since the drying rate depends greatly on air velocity, carpet air permeability is a very important parameter affecting drying time. We study the effects of several carpet construction and process parameters on the air permeability of unbacked cut-pile nylon carpets with woven polypropylene primary backing using a modified Frazier air permeability tester and a laboratory through-air dryer. We then present a model predicting pressure drop over the carpets versus apparent velocity.
The effects of different aspects of supervision among female and male correctional staff: A preliminary study

This study examined a gendered model of the effects of supervisory factors on job outcomes for both men and women. Two competing hypotheses, the importation-differential experiences model and the work role prisonization model, guided the analyses of the effects of supervisor support, supervisor structure, and supervisor trust on job stress, job satisfaction, and affective organizational commitment. Data came from surveys of 160 correctional staff employed at a Midwestern prison. The results provide substantial support for the work model and less support for the importation model. Few differences were found in how men and women respond to supervisory factors. The implications of these results are discussed.
Caregiver Burden: A Clinical Review

Importance Caregiver burden may result from providing care for patients with chronic illness. It can occur in any of the 43.5 million individuals providing support to midlife and older adults. Caregiver burden is frequently overlooked by clinicians. Objectives To outline the epidemiology of caregiver burden; to provide strategies to diagnose, assess, and intervene for caregiver burden in clinical practice; and to evaluate evidence on interventions intended to avert or mitigate caregiver burden and related caregiver distress. Evidence Cohort studies examining the relation between demographic and social risk factors and adverse outcomes of caregiver burden were reviewed. Review of recent meta-analyses to summarize the effectiveness of caregiver burden interventions were identified by searching Ovid MEDLINE, AgeLine, and the Cochrane Library. Results Risk factors for caregiver burden include female sex, low educational attainment, residence with the care recipient, higher number of hours spent caregiving, depression, social isolation, financial stress, and lack of choice in being a caregiver. Practical assessment strategies for caregiver burden exist to evaluate caregivers, their care recipients, and the care recipient’s overall caregiving needs. A variety of psychosocial and pharmacological interventions have shown mild to modest efficacy in mitigating caregiver burden and associated manifestations of caregiver distress in high-quality meta-analyses. Psychosocial interventions include support groups or psychoeducational interventions for caregivers of dementia patients (effect size, 0.09-0.23). Pharmacologic interventions include use of anticholinergics or antipsychotic medications for dementia or dementia-related behaviors in the care recipient (effect size, 0.18-0.27). Many studies showed improvements in caregiver burden–associated symptoms (eg, mood, coping, self-efficacy) even when caregiver burden itself was minimally improved. Conclusions and Relevance Physicians have a responsibility to recognize caregiver burden. Caregiver assessment and intervention should be tailored to the individual circumstances and contexts in which caregiver burden occurs.
Native BK viral nephropathy in a pediatric heart transplant recipient

BK viral nephropathy is a well-documented clinical entity in kidney transplant recipients and a significant cause of morbidity and allograft loss in affected patients. BK viral nephropathy in native kidneys of non-kidney transplant recipients is relatively uncommon, but has been reported in adult patients. We report the occurrence of BK viral nephropathy in a pediatric heart transplant recipient. A 10-yr-old boy with past history of Ewing's sarcoma underwent heart transplantation for dilated cardiomyopathy induced by previous chemotherapy with doxorubicin. Post-transplant course was complicated by grade 3A rejection and CMV colitis. He was diagnosed with native BK viral nephropathy approximately 18 months post-transplant due to mild, but persistent, elevation in serum creatinine associated with proteinuria. BK viral nephropathy affects non-kidney transplant recipients, and a high index of suspicion is necessary for early diagnosis and management of this condition.
Prognostic value of low platelets in MDS patients with del(5q)

7078 The most common (10–15%) chromosomal abnormality found in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is an interstitial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 5 (del(5q)). The recent finding that lenalid...
Production of biorenewable styrene: utilization of biomass-derived sugars and insights into toxicity

Fermentative production of styrene from glucose has been previously demonstrated in Escherichia coli. Here, we demonstrate the production of styrene from the sugars derived from lignocellulosic biomass depolymerized by fast pyrolysis. A previously engineered styrene-producing strain was further engineered for utilization of the anhydrosugar levoglucosan via expression of levoglucosan kinase. The resulting strain produced 240 ± 3 mg L(-1) styrene from pure levoglucosan, similar to the 251 ± 3 mg L(-1) produced from glucose. When provided at a concentration of 5 g L(-1), pyrolytic sugars supported styrene production at titers similar to those from pure sugars, demonstrating the feasibility of producing this important industrial chemical from biomass-derived sugars. However, the toxicity of contaminant compounds in the biomass-derived sugars and styrene itself limit further gains in production. Styrene toxicity is generally believed to be due to membrane damage. Contrary to this prevailing wisdom, our quantitative assessment during challenge with up to 200 mg L(-1) of exogenously provided styrene showed little change in membrane integrity; membrane disruption was observed only during styrene production. Membrane fluidity was also quantified during styrene production, but no changes were observed relative to the non-producing control strain. This observation that styrene production is much more damaging to the membrane integrity than challenge with exogenously supplied styrene provides insight into the mechanism of styrene toxicity and emphasizes the importance of verifying proposed toxicity mechanisms during production instead of relying upon results obtained during exogenous challenge.
Enhancing Cardiac Rehabilitation With Stress Management Training: A Randomized, Clinical Efficacy Trial.

Background—Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is the standard of care for patients with coronary heart disease. Despite considerable epidemiological evidence that high stress is associated with worse health outcomes, stress management training (SMT) is not included routinely as a component of CR. Methods and Results—One hundred fifty-one outpatients with coronary heart disease who were 36 to 84 years of age were randomized to 12 weeks of comprehensive CR or comprehensive CR combined with SMT (CR+SMT), with assessments of stress and coronary heart disease biomarkers obtained before and after treatment. A matched sample of CR-eligible patients who did not receive CR made up the no-CR comparison group. All participants were followed up for up to 5.3 years (median, 3.2 years) for clinical events. Patients randomized to CR+SMT exhibited greater reductions in composite stress levels compared with those randomized to CR alone (P=0.022), an effect that was driven primarily by improvements in anxiety, distress, and perce...
Electrical characteristics of multilayer MoS2 FET's with MoS2/graphene heterojunction contacts.

The electrical properties of multilayer MoS2/graphene heterojunction transistors are investigated. Temperature-dependent I–V measurements indicate the concentration of unintentional donors in exfoliated MoS2 to be 3.57 × 1011 cm–2, while the ionized donor concentration is determined as 3.61 × 1010 cm–2. The temperature-dependent measurements also reveal two dominant donor levels, one at 0.27 eV below the conduction band and another located at 0.05 eV below the conduction band. The I–V characteristics are asymmetric with drain bias voltage and dependent on the junction used for the source or drain contact. I–V characteristics of the device are consistent with a long channel one-dimensional field-effect transistor model with Schottky contact. Utilizing devices, which have both graphene/MoS2 and Ti/MoS2 contacts, the Schottky barrier heights of both interfaces are measured. The charge transport mechanism in both junctions was determined to be either thermionic-field emission or field emission depending on bi...
Synthesis of Alternating trans-AB Copolymers through Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization Initiated by Molybdenum Alkylidenes

Four alternating AB copolymers have been prepared through ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with Mo(NR)(CHCMe2Ph)[OCMe(CF3)2]2 initiators (R = 2,6-Me2C6H3 (1) or 2,6-i-Pr2C6H3 (2)). The A:B monomer pairs copolymerized by 1 are cyclooctene (A):2,3-dicarbomethoxy-7-isopropylidenenorbornadiene (B), cycloheptene (A′):dimethylspiro[bicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-diene-2,3-dicarboxylate-7,1′-cyclopropane] (B′), A:B′, and A′:B; A′:B′ and A:B′ are also copolymerized by 2. The >90% poly(A-alt-B) copolymers are formed with heterodyads (AB) that have the trans configuration. Evidence suggests that one trans hetero C═C bond is formed when A (A or A′) reacts with the syn form of the alkylidene made from B (syn-MB = syn-MB or syn-MB′) to give anti-MA, while the other trans C═C bond is formed when B reacts with anti-MA to give syn-MB. Cis and trans AA dyads are proposed to arise when A reacts with anti-MA in competition with B reacting with anti-MA.
Temperature Dependence and Deuterium Kinetic Isotope Effects in the CH (CD) + C2H4(C2D4) Reaction between 295 and 726 K

Absolute rate coefficients for the reactions CH + C2H4 (k1), CD + C2H4 (k2), CH + C2D4 (k3), and CD + C2D4 (k4) have been measured by the laser photolysis/CW laser-induced fluorescence method at temperatures from 295 to 726 K. The individual rate coefficients can be described by k1 = (2.85 ± 0.02) (T/293)-(0.31 ± 0.02) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, k2 = (2.40 ± 0.01) (T/293)-(0.28 ± 0.01) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, k3 = (2.61 ± 0.01) (T/293)-(0.34 ± 0.01) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, k4 = (2.22 ± 0.01) (T/293)-(0.21 ± 0.02) × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, where the error estimates are ±2σ and reflect the precision of the fit. The slight negative temperature dependence is in good agreement with previous determinations of this reaction, and is consistent with barrierless formation of an excited C3H5 adduct followed by rapid decomposition. The kinetic isotope effect for deuteration of the CH radical is k1/k2 = 1.19 ± 0.04 at room temperature, and declines somewhat with temperature. The kinetic isotope effect for d...
Inference machines for nonparametric filter learning

Data-driven approaches for learning dynamic models for Bayesian filtering often try to maximize the data likelihood given parametric forms for the transition and observation models. However, this objective is usually nonconvex in the parametrization and can only be locally optimized. Furthermore, learning algorithms typically do not provide performance guarantees on the desired Bayesian filtering task. In this work, we propose using inference machines to directly optimize the filtering performance. Our procedure is capable of learning partially-observable systems when the state space is either unknown or known in advance. To accomplish this, we adapt PREDICTIVE STATE INFERENCE MACHINES (PSIMS) by introducing the concept of hints, which incorporate prior knowledge of the state space to accompany the predictive state representation. This allows PSIM to be applied to the larger class of filtering problems which require prediction of a specific parameter or partial component of state. Our PSIM+HINTS adaptation enjoys theoretical advantages similar to the original PSIM algorithm, and we showcase its performance on a variety of robotics filtering problems.
Caspase-3 Activation Is a Critical Determinant of Genotoxic Stress-Induced Apoptosis

A number of methods have been developed to identify the cells that undergo apoptosis by analyzing the morphological, biochemical, and molecular changes that take place during this universal biological process. The best recognized biochemical hallmark of both early and late stages of apoptosis is the activation of cysteine proteases (caspases). Detection of active caspase-3 in cells and tissues is an important method for apoptosis induced by a wide variety of apoptotic signals. Most common assays for examining caspase-3 activation include immunostaining, immunoblotting for active caspase-3, colorimetric assays using fluorochrome substrates, as well as employing the fluorescein-labeled CaspaTag pan-caspase in situ detection kit.