cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Silicon-based smart spatial light modulators: technology and applications to parallel computers

Silicon-based Smart Spatial Light Modulators (S-SLMs) are reviewed for their potential role in parallel computing. S-SLMs optimally combine the local computation capabilities of electronics with the global interconnection capabilities of optics. They are a critical component well suited for the realization of fine-grain massively parallel computers. A. theoretical framework describing their expected performance in terms of scalability, reli- ability, throughput and packaging issues is presented and several enabling technologies under development are discussed.
Fairness and Transparency in an Expanded Access Program: Allocation of the Only Treatment for SMA1.

The ethical issues raised by the nusinersen Expanded Access Program (EAP) are primarily challenges of resource distribution. While not often a major issue in EAP programs, in this case the clinical...
The E3 ubiquitin ligase Siah1 regulates adrenal gland organization and aldosterone secretion

Primary and secondary hypertension are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Elevated secretion of aldosterone resulting from primary aldosteronism (PA) is a key driver of secondary hypertension. Here, we report an unexpected role for the ubiquitin ligase Siah1 in adrenal gland development and PA. Siah1a-/- mice exhibit altered adrenal gland morphology, as reflected by a diminished X-zone, enlarged medulla, and dysregulated zonation of the glomerulosa as well as increased aldosterone levels and aldosterone target gene expression and reduced plasma potassium levels. Genes involved in catecholamine biosynthesis and cAMP signaling are upregulated in the adrenal glands of Siah1a-/- mice, while genes related to retinoic acid signaling and cholesterol biosynthesis are downregulated. Loss of Siah1 leads to increased expression of the Siah1 substrate PIAS1, an E3 SUMO protein ligase implicated in the suppression of LXR, a key regulator of cholesterol levels in the adrenal gland. In addition, SIAH1 sequence variants were identified in patients with PA; such variants impaired SIAH1 ubiquitin ligase activity, resulting in elevated PIAS1 expression. These data identify a role for the Siah1-PIAS1 axis in adrenal gland organization and function and point to possible therapeutic targets for hyperaldosteronism.
“What’s the sign for nitty gritty?”: Managing metalinguistic references in ASL-English dialogue interpreting

Humans have the unique capability of using language to talk about language ( Jakobson 1957 ). For example, one can say, “The Italian word for dog is cane. ” These metalinguistic references can create a dilemma for interpreters because the critical linguistic term (i.e., cane ) must be maintained in the target language to create meaning. Spoken language interpreters can render the original form since both working languages are expressed in the same modality (speech-speech). However, signed language interpreters who work between languages having distinct modalities (speech-sign), thus, must interpret forms between different phonological structures. We videorecorded ten experienced American Sign Language-English interpreters as they interpreted a mock training session containing metalinguistic references. Results showed interpreters employed numerous strategies to manage and coordinate the target language output.
REMARKS ON ERGODIC THEORY OF STOCHASTIC FLOWS AND CONTROL FLOWS

Stochastic systems and control systems with values in a state space M can be considered as dynamical systems on the space U × M, where U denotes the space of admissible control functions for control systems, and the trajectory space of an underlying noise process for stochastic systems. Invariant probability measures for these flows are the main topic of this paper: We show that their support is contained in sets D ⊂ U × M, which are the lifts of so-called control sets D ⊂ M to invariant sets in U × M. Several results on the characterization of control sets D are given, together with criteria for the existence of invariant measures u on U × M with supp μ ⊂ V. The case of Markovian stochastic systems is treated in some detail. Because of the importance in applications, we prove rather complete results for two classes of systems: linearized systems, which play a crucial role in the theory of Lyapunov exponents for stochastic and control flows, and general nonlinear systems with one dimensional state space, which are important in stochastic bifurcation theory.
Application of Tandem Mass Spectrometry to Carcinogen-Modified Nucleosides

Tandem mass spectrometry was used in the structure determinations of adducts formed between nucleosides and the potent carcinogens benzo[a]pyrene and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene.Adduct isomers are differentiated based on the fragmentations observed in their CAD spectra.
Effects of narcotic analgesics on hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid function.

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the effects of narcotic analgesics on hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid function. The inhibitory effect of morphine on thyrotrophin (TSH) secretion is mediated via the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and probably by an excitation of inhibitory neurons that lie in the caudal hypothalamus. It appears that narcotic analgesics have a dual action on the secretion of TSH secretion; however, the predominant effect appears to be one that produces inhibition of pituitary-thyroid function. Although the mechanism(s) by which narcotic analgesics influence hypothalamicpituitary activity is not been clearly elucidated, two possibilities arise. The first is that analgesics exert their effect on the pituitary through a direct action on the hypothalamic neurosecretory cells that contain releasing factors. The second possibility focusses on the presence of the “neurotransmitters”, acetylcholine, dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin which are found in the hypothalamus. The second possibility focusses on the presence of the “neurotransmitters”, acetylcholine, dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin which are found in the hypothalamus.
Chapter Ten The Implications of Gender and Speech for the Experience of Control in Aging

Abstract In this essay we review literature on sex differences in aging, concentrating on differences in adaptive capacities, differences in life continuities, and differences in men's and women's reactions to loss, separation and dependency. Implications for men and women in coping with increased dependency and helplessness are considered. The Soviet perspective on language use and the regulatory function of speech is reviewed, focusing on the work of Luria, Vygotsky and Bahktin. The capacity for speech to regulate both discrete activity and extended streams of behavior and experience is considered. These concepts are compared to similar treatment of speech and its role in self-regulation in the work of D. Winnicott on transitional objects. It is argued that these speech functions are potentially adaptive in mediating experiences of helplessness and loss of control. We argue that there are selected advantages to women in respect to the aging process and to increasing feelings of loss of control and helplessness. Finally, we suggest a reconceptualization of the concept of ‘control.’ We argue against the idealization of that term and of models of psychological functioning in which autonomy and separateness is stressed at the expense of relational models of functioning.
Viruses, Immunity, Immunodeficiency and Cancer

This scientific meeting has been an impressive experience for me for a number of reasons. First, it reminded me that my being captured for a career in immunology occurred in a context of a chance discovery which related to an influence of an immunologic process on virus infection and vice versa. As a graduate student, I was using a Herpes simplex virus infection of the peripheral nerve and anterior horn cells to influence nerve impulse transmission over the two neurone-two axon reflex in rabbits. It was at this time in 1943 that Kolouch introduced me to the plasma cell as a possible antibody-producing cell. Kolouch had observed plasma cell accumulation in the marrow and spleen in a patient with subacute bacterial endocarditis. In subsequent experiments with rabbits he had seen that during anaphylaxis, after repeated intravenous antigenic stimulation, plasma cells accumulated also in the marrow and spleen. He had, thus, postulated that the appearance of plasma cells in marrow and spleen represents an adaptive response of antibody producing cells to antigen injection. But he was worried that the physiologic concomitants of anaphylaxis might be responsible for anaphylaxis. To clarify this issue, I proposed that we produce anaphylaxis by either to two means—passive or active anaphylaxis. When the actively immunized rabbits were given a secondary or challenging injection of antigen to produce anaphylactic shock, a massive proliferation of precursor cells and extraordinary development of plasma cells was launched in the bone marrow and spleen.
Gallium arsenide solar cells grown at rates exceeding 300 µm h-1 by hydride vapor phase epitaxy.

We report gallium arsenide (GaAs) growth rates exceeding 300 µm h−1 using dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy. We achieved these rates by maximizing the gallium to gallium monochloride conversion efficiency, and by utilizing a mass-transport-limited growth regime with fast kinetics. We also demonstrate gallium indium phosphide growth at rates exceeding 200 µm h−1 using similar growth conditions. We grew GaAs solar cell devices by incorporating the high growth rate of GaAs and evaluated its material quality at these high rates. Solar cell growth rates ranged from 35 to 309 µm h−1 with open circuit voltages ranging from 1.04 to 1.07 V. The best devices exceeded 25% efficiency under the AM1.5 G solar spectrum. The high open-circuit voltages indicate that high material quality can be maintained at these extremely high growth rates. These results have strong implications toward lowering the deposition cost of III-V materials potentially enabling the deposition of high efficiency devices in mere seconds. Gallium arsenide holds record efficiency for single junction solar cells, but high production costs limit applications. Here Metaferia et al. show high quality GaAs and GaInP at rates exceeding 300 and 200 micrometers per hour by dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy and > 25% efficient solar cells.
FGF9 and FGF10 use distinct signaling pathways to direct lung epithelial specification and branching

Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs) 9 and 10 are essential during the pseudoglandular stage of lung development. Mesothelial produced FGF9 is principally responsible for mesenchymal growth, whereas epithelial produced FGF9 and mesenchymal produced FGF10 guide lung epithelial development, and loss of either of these ligands affects epithelial branching. Because FGF9 and FGF10 activate distinct FGF receptors (FGFRs), we hypothesized that they would control distinct developmental mechanisms. Here, we show that FGF9 signaled through epithelial FGF receptor 3 (FGFR3) to directly promote distal epithelial fate specification and inhibit epithelial differentiation. By contrast, FGF10 signaled through epithelial FGFR2b to promote epithelial proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, FGF9-FGFR3 signaling functionally opposed FGF10-FGFR2b signaling, and FGFR3 preferentially used downstream PI3K pathways, whereas FGFR2b relied on downstream RAS-MAPK pathways. These data demonstrate that within lung epithelial cells, different FGFRs function independently; they bind receptor-specific ligands and direct unique developmental functions through activation of distinct downstream signaling pathways.
Queueing-Inventory Models with Batch Demands and Positive Service Times

We consider queueing-inventory models in which customers arrive according to a point process and each customer demands for one or more items but not exceeding a predetermined (finite) value, say, N. The demands of the customers require positive service times. Replenishments are based on (s, S)-type policy and the lead times are assumed to be random. We consider two models. In Model 1, any arriving customer finding the inventory level to be zero will be lost. In Model 2, the loss of customers occur in two ways. First, an arriving customer finding the inventory level to be zero with the server being idle will be lost, and secondly, the customers, if any, present at a service completion with zero inventory will all be lost. We assume that in both the models the demands may be met partially based on the requests and the available inventory levels at that time. The inventory level is reduced by the amount to meet (fully or partially) the requisite demand of the customer at the beginning of the service. Under the assumption that all underlying random variables are exponential, we perform the steady-state analysis of the models using the classical matrix-analytic methods. Illustrative examples comparing the two models are presented.
Teachers’ knowledge of student mathematical thinking in written instructional products

The successful use of lesson plans as the primary vehicle for storing and sharing teachers’ instructional knowledge in Japan has given impetus to calls by US researchers for the development of a system for sharing teachers’ knowledge through instructional products to improve teachers’ capacity to implement high-quality instruction and to build a knowledge base for instruction. These products would be created by, and for, teachers to use in guiding instruction, thus building and sharing teachers’ instructional knowledge. In this study, we try to characterize one aspect of teacher knowledge that is central in building a knowledge base for instruction, knowledge of student mathematical thinking. We analyze ten written instructional products from the USA and Japan to better understand what knowledge of student mathematical thinking can be shared in such products. We also look at how knowledge of student mathematical thinking is used to guide and justify instructional decisions. One key finding is that the knowledge of student mathematical thinking shared in the top written instructional products is specific to a task or mathematical topic, varied with descriptions of multiple solutions or ways of reasoning, and sufficiently detailed to make the knowledge usable for teachers.
Stigma of Opioid Use Disorder and Its Indirect Effects on Student Pharmacists’ Perceptions and Attitudes

Objectives: Pharmacists play a vital role in serving patients during the ongoing nationwide opioid epidemic, and so it is also critical to educate the next generation of pharmacists on opioids and opioid use disorder (OUD). The primary objective of this study was to quantitatively characterize student perceptions of opioid use and the stigma associated with OUD. Secondary aims were to determine whether differences in perceptions exist based upon the student’s year in the Doctor of Pharmacy program or employment in a community pharmacy. Methods: First-, second-, third-, and fourth-year student pharmacists voluntarily completed an electronic survey regarding perceptions of opioid use and stigma associated with OUD. Results: Of the 9 survey items, students were most uncomfortable referring patients to community resources for addiction support and/or treatment (25.3% comfortable or very comfortable). Students working in a community pharmacy were significantly more comfortable talking to patients attempting to refill opioids early and providing opioid counseling as compared to their peers not working in community pharmacy. Fourth-year students reported a higher level of comfort talking to a patient attempting to refill an opioid prescription early, counseling a patient on an opioid prescription, and providing information about alternatives to opioids. Third-year students responded most favorably to the items regarding how well the curriculum has prepared them to interact with patients taking opioids and those with OUD. Conclusions: These findings reveal that students are comfortable counseling on opioids and discussing alternative options. Differences in perceptions were observed based upon the student’s year in the program and whether or not they were employed in a community pharmacy setting.
A one-dimensional model for ion transport in a flame with two absorbing surfaces

This paper presents numerical and asymptotic analytical solutions for the current–voltage characteristic of a flame using a one-dimensional ion transport model with boundary conditions that include...
Promises and perils of Guan

This article examines families’ involvement in the care and management of people with serious mental illnesses in China, and focuses on how that involvement is shaped by changing psychiatric institutions and law. Drawing on 32 months of fieldwork, I show that familial involvement is primarily characterised by guan [管], which can mean ‘care’ and/or ‘control’, and which commonly invokes a particular cultural ideal of parenting. Tracing how the language and practice of guan circulate between different realms, I argue that a ‘biopolitical paternalism’ has emerged in contemporary China. It reduces patients to carriers and manifestations of biomedical/security risk and legitimises the state’s policy of population management as a form of paternalistic intervention, while displacing certain paternalistic responsibilities, such as hospitalisation and ensuring medication compliance, onto patients’ families. This biopolitical paternalism produces vulnerabilities and unease within families and aggravates health disparities between patients. The analytic of biopolitical paternalism has conceptual efficacy and practical implications beyond mental health.
Modelling the domestic poultry population in the United States: A novel approach leveraging remote sensing and synthetic data methods

Comprehensive and spatially accurate poultry population demographic data do not currently exist in the United States; however, these data are critically needed to adequately prepare for, and efficiently respond to and manage disease outbreaks. In response to absence of these data, this study developed a national-level poultry population dataset by using a novel combination of remote sensing and probabilistic modelling methodologies. The Farm Location and Agricultural Production Simulator (FLAPS) (Burdett et al., 2015) was used to provide baseline national-scale data depicting the simulated locations and populations of individual poultry operations. Remote sensing methods (identification using aerial imagery) were used to identify actual locations of buildings having the characteristic size and shape of commercial poultry barns. This approach was applied to 594 U.S. counties with > 100,000 birds in 34 states based on the 2012 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Census of Agriculture (CoA). The two methods were integrated in a hybrid approach to develop an automated machine learning process to locate commercial poultry operations and predict the number and type of poultry for each operation across the coterminous United States. Validation illustrated that the hybrid model had higher locational accuracy and more realistic distribution and density patterns when compared to purely simulated data. The resulting national poultry population dataset has significant potential for application in animal disease spread modelling, surveillance, emergency planning and response, economics, and other fields, providing a versatile asset for further agricultural research.
Integrated statistical and decision models for multi-stage health care audit sampling

Health care audits are crucial in managing the government insurance programs that are estimated to have losses amounting to billions of dollars every year. Statistical methods such as sampling have...
Movement of the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) in the upper Mississippi River Basin, North America

Rare appearances of bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) in river systems and other freshwater ecosystems have been reported from five continents. The wide geographic range of this phenomenon, the physiological adaptations of this species to allow for movement into rivers, and a fossil record in the Miocene Epoch, all imply that this behavior has a long history. In the Mississippi River basin, however, only two specimens were captured in the river’s upper portion during the entire 20th century. Further historical, archeological, and paleontological records of these animals appearing farther than 500 km upstream from the Mississippi delta is almost nonexistent. Bull shark movements in the upper portions of this river are likely sufficiently rare or cryptic to avoid detection using historical, archaeological, paleontological, and modern fisheries conservation techniques. Deeper research into these sharks, and their historical biogeography is needed to better understand the relationship these large predators have to the freshwater ecosystems of the American mid-continent.
Ripple Effect: Communicating Water Quality Data through Sonic Vibrations

Pollution in real time can be incredibly powerful, but is difficult to communicate. Persistent deterioration of land, air, and water are largely invisible to the eye and camera lens. What if water itself could visualize its quality and perform the level of contamination? Ripple Effect is an environmental art installation that reveals water contamination through sonic vibrations and light. Using software technology, water contamination levels are translated into sound waves. The installation consists of speakers that play ‘data sound tracks’, which vibrate water held in attached trays. Participants see and hear the water vibrate based on contaminant concentrations. This paper describes the concept, data-to-sound process, implementation, and participant evaluation surrounding the installation of Ripple Effect in communities neighboring resource extraction and other industrial activity. While there are many existing artworks that visualize environmental quality, Ripple Effect is novel in its use of local water quality data and interactive technology that allows the primary medium, water, to communicate directly with the participant.
Geothermal Resources and Technology: Introduction

Geothermal resources are traditionally divided into the following three basic categories or types: 1. Hydrothermal convection systems, which include thermal aquifers that are so-called vapor-dominated or liquid-dominated systems. 2. Hot igneous resources, which include hot dry rock and geologic magna systems. 3. Conduction-dominated resources, which include geopressured and radiogenic resources. This chapter discusses provisional estimates of the power generation potential of a number of unconventional resource locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming that are potentially suitable for so-called Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology. A variety of technologies are in current use to convert geothermal energy to useful forms. These can very generally be grouped into three basic categories: (1) direct use, (2) electric power generation, and (3) geothermal heat pumps. Each category utilizes the geothermal resource in a very different way. Keywords: enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technology; geothermal resources
The Fiscal Limit and Non-Ricardian Consumers

The U.S. faces exponentially rising entitlement obligations. I introduce a fiscal limit - a point where higher taxes are no longer a feasible financing mechanism - into a Perpetual Youth model to assess how intergenerational redistributions of wealth and the maturity of government debt impact the consequences of explosive government transfers. Intergenerational transfers of wealth strengthen the expectational effects of the fiscal limit and magnify the likelihood of stagflation. A longer average maturity of debt weakens these effects in the short/medium-runs but still increases stagflation in the long-run. Delaying reform increases the severity and duration of the stagflationary period.
Victorian Renovations of the Novel: Norms and narrow spaces: the gendering of limits on representation

VICTORIAN NORMS: THE PLACES OF NOVEL AND ROMANCE In the Victorian novel, norms of representation and standards regarding genres are often embodied in spatial metaphors of “realm” and “region,” and both Victorian novelists and critics contribute to the sense of separation keeping “novel” and “romance” and their respective plots and subjects of representation apart. Although the fictional worlds of Victorian novels are more heterogeneous than this dichotomy suggests, the terms “romance” and “novel” refer to opposite kinds of fictional worlds, related to the actual world and its probabilities to a lesser and greater degree. Nathaniel Hawthorne articulates the opposition in his preface to The House of The Seven Gables (1851), writing in an often-cited passage: When a writer calls his work a Romance, it need hardly be observed that he wishes to claim a certain latitude, both as to its fashion and material, which he would not have felt himself entitled to assume, had he professed to be writing a Novel. The latter form of composition is presumed to aim at a very minute fidelity, not merely to the possible, but to the probable and ordinary course of man's experience. The former – while as a work of art, it must rigidly subject itself to laws, and while it sins unpardonably so far as it may swerve aside from the truth of the human heart – has fairly a right to present that truth under circumstances, to a great extent, of the writer's own choosing or creation … The point of view in which this tale comes under the Romantic definition lies in the attempt to connect a bygone time with the very present that is flitting way from us.
Impacts of local and state tax and expenditure limits on economic growth

We focus on the impact of statutory and constitutional Tax and Expenditure Limits (TELs) on growth levels and rates of convergence. Using a panel of US state data from 1987 to 2004, we report a family of neoclassical growth models. Using simple dummy variables to identify states with and without strict TELs, we find that local property tax levy limits do not significantly influence income growth and convergence rates. Results for state revenue and expenditure limits suggest that more recent limits may have negatively affected income growth and slowed convergence.
Class, Race, and the Spousal Income Gap: The Effects of Family Income, Educational Attainment, and Race-Ethnicity on the Husband-Wife Income Ratio in the United States, 1980, 1990, 2000

The literature on gender economics has largely ignored the striking variation of the gender income gap across socioeconomic classes and racial and ethnic groups. Our article reports the effects of family income, educational attainment, and race-ethnicity on the ratio of the individual incomes of husbands and wives, the spousal gap, in the United States, using regression analysis on the PUMS data. We find that the higher the family income and the educational gap between husbands and wives, the larger the spousal gap. Non-White husbands (especially Blacks) are associated with significantly lower spousal gaps. Conditions shaping wives' choices --especially in relation to allocating more or less labor to their homes—have a larger impact on the spousal gap than those shaping husbands’ choices. This underscores the importance of industrial and occupational desegregation, antidiscrimination in the workplace, and the provision of services that relieve wives from domestic labor in improving gender equity.
Chemical Face Peeling

Chemexfoliation is an excellent method to reduce facial rhytids. For 25 years, we have used the traditional formula as described by T. J. Baker but with a moist healing technique rather than a tape mask. We have found the peel to be inexpensive and easy to perform, with results that are excellent and consistent, with minimal side effects.
Wireless ATM: a perspective on issues and prospects

In this article the author examines several key issues in wireless ATM and even offers possible resolutions for some. The primary differences that distinguish wireless from wireline communications are presented, together with a short summary of so-called second-generation digital cellular system concepts. The operation of a wireline ATM network, especially with regard to those aspects bearing on the feasibility of wireless extension, is briefly reviewed, as well as some key technologies which may be very important enablers for wireless ATM, and some possible approaches for enabling bandwidth on demand (the media access problem) and maintaining service quality guarantees (the cell handoff problem), respectively. Finally, a possible format for signaling and synchronization, needed to "tie it all together", is presented.
Deprotonation and Oxidation of the W⋮CCH2−W Bridge To Form a C2-Biscarbyne W⋮C−C⋮W Bridge

Reaction of the anionic vinylidene complex K[Tp‘(CO)2MCCH2] (M = Mo, W; Tp‘ = hydridotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate) with Tp(CO)(PhC⋮CPh)W−I (Tp = hydridotris(pyrazolyl)borate) yields Tp‘(CO)2MCCH2−W(CO)(PhC⋮CPh)Tp (M = Mo, 4; W, 5) and potassium iodide. Removal of a methylene proton from the (⋮CCH2−) bridge with KOBut forms a monoanion containing a putative carbene moiety. Oxidation of the anion with iodine leads to net hydride removal and yields the unusual C2-bridged dimers Tp‘(CO)2M⋮CC⋮W(CO)(PhC⋮CPh)Tp (M = Mo, 7; W, 8). Conversion of the tungsten−carbon single bond in the precursor complex to a triple bond in the product is accompanied by a significant reduction in donation to the metal from the alkyne π⊥ orbital.
The Impact of an Application of Telerehabilitation Technology on Caregiver Burden

The objective of this research was to assess the effects of an application of telerehabilitation reducing time and financial obligation on caregiver burden among eleven caregivers of elderly persons with Parkinson’s disease. Clients (care receivers) participated in speech therapy delivered via videophones in their homes; the protocol required 16 treatments delivered four times a week for four weeks. At the conclusion of treatment, caregivers completed a structured interview about the impact of telerehabilitation on time and financial aspects of the burden of care. On average, this speech therapy protocol delivered by videophones saved 48 hours of time, more than 92 hours of work time, and $1024 for each caregiver. Savings were significant and previous research demonstrated nearly equal outcomes using the videophone delivery method. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
Neurodegeneration and Neuroprotection in Parkinson Disease

Many of the motoric features that define Parkinson disease (PD) result primarily from the loss of the neuromelanin (NM)-containing dopamine (DA) neurons of the substantia nigra (SN), and to a lesser extent, other mostly catecholaminergic neurons, and are associated with cytoplasmic “Lewy body” inclusions in some of the surviving neurons. While there are uncommon instances of familial PD, and rare instances of known genetic causes, the etiology of the vast majority of PD cases remains unknown (i.e., idiopathic). Here we outline genetic and environmental findings related to PD epidemiology, suggestions that aberrant protein degradation may play a role in disease pathogenesis, and pathogenetic mechanisms including oxidative stress due to DA oxidation that could underlie the selectivity of neurodegeneration. We then outline potential approaches to neuroprotection for PD that are derived from current notions on disease pathogenesis.
Synthesizing mixed-phase TiO2 nanocomposites using a hydrothermal method for photo-oxidation and photoreduction applications

Abstract Mixed-phase titanium dioxide (TiO2) materials, such as Degussa P25, show high photocatalytic activity due largely to the synergistic effect between anatase and rutile phases, in which spatial charge separation hinders charge recombination. Our previous studies indicate that a particular nanostructured assembly of anatase and rutile crystallites is necessary for the synergy. In this paper, we apply this structure-function understanding to the synthesis of highly active TiO2 nanocomposite photocatalysts. Using simple synthetic procedures, we demonstrate an ability to design a highly active nanocomposite that shows enhanced photoactivity in both oxidative and reductive chemistry. Studies by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy indicate the existence of the critical nanostructured assembly and thus the optimization of charge transfer between anatase and rutile phases in the synthesized nanocomposite. These results illustrate the potential of rationally designing photocatalysts for energy applications.
School-based treatment for anxious african-american adolescents: a controlled pilot study.

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a school-based group cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for anxiety disorders with African-American adolescents. Method Twelve adolescents (mean age=15.6 years) with anxiety disorders were randomly assigned to CBT ( n = 6) or a group attention-support control condition (AS-Control; n = 6). Both groups met for 10 sessions in the same high school. Key treatment ingredients in CBT involved exposure, relaxation, social skills, and cognitive restructuring. Key ingredients in AS-Control involved therapist and peer support. At pre-and posttreatment, diagnostic interviews were conducted, and adolescents completed self-report measures of anxiety. Results At posttreatment and among those who attended more than one treatment session, 3/4 adolescents in CBT no longer met diagnostic criteria for their primary anxiety disorder, compared with 1/5 in AS-Control. Clinician ratings of impairment and self-report levels of overall anxiety were significantly lower at posttreatment in CBT compared with AS-Control. Teenagers in both groups reported lower levels of social anxiety from pre-to posttreatment. Conclusions Findings support the feasibility of implementing a manual-based CBT in an urban school setting. Responder rates among African-American adolescents were similar to those found in studies with white youths.
14-Amino, 14-Alkylamino, and 14-Acylamino Analogs of Oxymorphindole. Differential Effects on Opioid Receptor Binding and Functional Profiles

The 14-amino analogue of oxymorphindole (OMI) was synthesized and found to possess δ-opioid binding affinity and selectivity similar to OMI. Substitution of the amino group with alkyl, arylalkyl, and acyl groups had relatively little effect on δ-affinity but δ-selectivity was reduced. In functional assays the 14-phenylacetylamino derivative 6d was a selective δ-agonist whereas the phenethylamino analogue 5d was a μ-agonist and low efficacy δ partial agonist that warrants further investigation as an analgesic with low tolerance and dependence.
Pernicious attrition and inter-RyR2 CICR current control in cardiac muscle

In cardiac muscle cells, ryanodine receptor (RyR) mediated Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) drives the contractile apparatus. Spontaneous bouts of inter-RyR Ca(2+) induced Ca(2+) release (CICR) generate an elemental unit of SR Ca(2+) release called a spark. Sparks are localized events that terminate soon after they begin. The local control of sparks is not clearly understood. In this article, we review the potential regulatory role that the changing single RyR Ca(2+) current may play. Moreover, we aggregate RyR data into a working scheme of inter-RyR CICR current control of sparks and a potential inter-RyR CICR termination mechanism that we call pernicious attrition.
A Mechanism of Vasodilatory Action of Polyamines and Acetylpolyamines: Possible Involvement of their Ca2+ Antagonistic Properties

Polyamines, a class of low-molecular weight organic polycations, have been shown to produce relaxing effects in vascular smooth muscles, although the mechanism has not been carefully examined. In this study, the mechanism of vascular action of polyamines and their metabolites, acetylpolyamines, was pharmacologically examined in the rabbit isolated thoracic aorta focusing on an endothelium-dependent component of vasodilatation and Ca 2+ influx through plasma membrane channels. Both polyamines and acetylpolyamines (except N 1 -acetylputrescine, which produced no response or very slight contraction) caused concentration-dependent relaxation in preconstricted aortic rings containing an intact endothelium. Aortic rings denuded of endothelium were also responsive to both polyamines and acetylpolyamines. Inhibitors of nitric oxide (reduced haemoglobin and N ω -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester), vasodilator prostaglandins (indomethacin) and guanylyl cyclase (methylene blue) did not affect the relaxation induced by both polyamines and acetylpolyamines in either endothelium-intact or -denuded aortic rings. Both polyamines and acetylpolyamines inhibited the concentration-dependent contraction for phenylephrine and K + . The Ca 2+ agonist Bay K 8644 induced concentration-dependent contraction in segments of rabbit aorta partially depolarized with 15 mM KCI, and both polyamines and acetylpolyamines relaxed the Bay K 8644-induced contraction in a concentration-dependent manner. Interestingly, both polyamines and acetylpolyamines also decreased contractions evoked by the Ca 2+ ionophore A23187. The concentration-response curve to exogenous Ca 2+ in K + -depolarization medium (K + = 120 mM) was shifted to the right by both polyamines and acetylpolyamines. The response elicited by Ca 2+ was increased by Bay K 8644 (10 -6 M), and this potentiation was also inhibited by both polyamines and acetylpolyamines. The results indicate that both polyamines and acetylpolyamines can induce vaso-relaxation of rabbit thoracic aorta by an endothelium-independent mechanism in-vitro and relax vascular smooth muscle by acting at the plasma membrane level, decreasing the influx of Ca 2+ . Therefore, polyamines and acetylpolyamines may have Ca 2+ antagonistic properties which may, in part, be involved in the mechanism of rabbit aortic vascular smooth muscle relaxation.
A histidine protein kinase is involved in polar organelle development in Caulobacter crescentus.

Abstract Mutations having pleiotropic effects on polar organelle development (pod) in Caulobacter crescentus have been identified and shown to occur in at least 13 genes scattered throughout the genome. Mutations at each locus affect a unique combination of polar traits, suggesting that complex interactions occur among these genes. The DNA sequence of one of these genes, pleC, indicates that it is homologous to members of the family of histidine protein kinase genes. Membes of this family include the senor components of the bacterial two-component regulatory systems. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated that the PleC protein was capable of autophosphorylation. These results suggest that the PleC protein (and perhaps the proteins encoded by the other pod genes as well) regulates the expression of genes involved in polar organelle development through the phosphorylation of key regulatory proteins. The use of a phosphorelay system cued to internal changes in the cell would provide a mechanism for coordinating major changes in gene expression with the completion of specific cell cycle events.
Incorporation of cerium and neodymium in uranyl phases

The potential for incorporating rare earth elements (REE) into/onto crystalline compounds has been evaluated by precipitating uranyl phases from aqueous solutions containing either cerium or neodymium. These REEs serve both as monitors for evaluating the potential repository behavior of REE radionuclides, and as surrogate elements for actinides (e.g., Ce4 and Nd3 for Pu4 and Am3, respectively). The present experiments examined the behavior of REE in the presence of ianthinite Formula Not Shown, becquerelite (Ca(UO2)6O4(OH)6(H2O)8), and other uranyl hydroxide compounds commonly noted as alteration products during the corrosion of UO2, spent nuclear fuel, and naturally occurring uraninite. The results of these experiments demonstrate that significant quantities of both cerium (Kd=1020) and neodymium (Kd=840) are incorporated within the uranium alteration phases and suggest that ionic substitution and/or adsorption to the uranyl phases can play a key role in the limiting the mobility of REE (and by analogy, actinide elements) in a nuclear waste repository.
Enhanced Adrenal Responsiveness to Angiotensin II in Patients with Low Renin Essential Hypertension

The plasma aldosterone response to infused angiotensin II was determined in normal controls and in patients with normal renin and with low renin essential hypertension. The patients with low renin essential hypertension showed an enhanced plasma aldosterone response when compared to the other two groups. This finding may explain why plasma aldosterone levels remain within normal limits in the face of suppressed plasma renin and angiotensin II concentrations in low renin essential hypertension.
Transmission of stochastic signals through a class of non-linear systems†

A separable, not necessarily stationary, stochastic process is passed through a nonlinear system represented by a functional polynomial of the Hammerstein type. Functional relations between the multivariate characteristic function of the output and the multivariate distribution, density and characteristic functions and multiple moments of various orders of the input are developed. Methods of evaluating these relations are discussed. Three examples arc worked out.
New Horizons Mission Design

In the first mission to Pluto, the New Horizons spacecraft was launched on January 19, 2006, and flew by Jupiter on February 28, 2007, gaining a significant speed boost from Jupiter’s gravity assist. After a 9.5-year journey, the spacecraft will encounter Pluto on July 14, 2015, followed by an extended mission to the Kuiper Belt objects for the first time. The mission design for New Horizons went through more than five years of numerous revisions and updates, as various mission scenarios regarding routes to Pluto and launch opportunities were investigated in order to meet the New Horizons mission’s objectives, requirements, and goals. Great efforts have been made to optimize the mission design under various constraints in each of the key aspects, including launch window, interplanetary trajectory, Jupiter gravity-assist flyby, Pluto–Charon encounter with science measurement requirements, and extended mission to the Kuiper Belt and beyond. Favorable encounter geometry, flyby trajectory, and arrival time for the Pluto–Charon encounter were found in the baseline design to enable all of the desired science measurements for the mission. The New Horizons mission trajectory was designed as a ballistic flight from Earth to Pluto, and all energy and the associated orbit state required for arriving at Pluto at the desired time and encounter geometry were computed and specified in the launch targets. The spacecraft’s flight thus far has been extremely efficient, with the actual trajectory error correction ΔV being much less than the budgeted amount.
Kinetic Models of Induction: II. Decreased Turnover of a Product or its Precursor

Reduction of the turnover rate constant for a substance or its metabolic precursor is a mechanism for induction which differs markedly in its kinetic characteristics from induction resulting from a direct stimulation of synthesis. The unique aspect of induction following inhibited turnover is that the time course of recovery from the induced to the basal state is more rapid than the time course for induction itself. A general set of kinetic equations is presented here which represents the complete chain of events for such an induction; namely the kinetics of the inducer, the kinetics of a synthesis precursor to the induced product, and the kinetics of the induced product itself. These equations have been used to simulate examples of this type of induction and resemble induction experiments from the literature.
Psychoacoustic Performance in Children Completing Fast ForWord Training

It has been hypothesized that one cause of children's language disorders is poor temporal processing. When children are not able to follow the rapid modulations in the speech signal that cue phonemic information, development of critical language concepts might be missed. It has also been suggested that intensive auditory training on a hierarchy of temporal tasks may significantly improve language processing. Temporal processing was evaluated in children with normal language and those with language impairment who were enrolled in an intensive computerized auditory training program. The psychoacoustic tasks were aimed at evaluating the ability to (1) process signals arriving in very close succession, and (2) discriminate signals changing rapidly in frequency. Three dependent variables included thresholds for brief tones presented in three conditions: quiet, just before a masker, and simultaneously with a masker. A fourth dependent variable was the minimum detectable change in a tone sweeping up in frequency...
High-resolution nanomechanical analysis of suspended electrospun silk fibers with the torsional harmonic atomic force microscope

Atomic force microscopes have become indispensable tools for mechanical characterization of nanoscale and submicron structures. However, materials with complex geometries, such as electrospun fiber networks used for tissue scaffolds, still pose challenges due to the influence of tension and bending modulus on the response of the suspended structures. Here we report mechanical measurements on electrospun silk fibers with various treatments that allow discriminating among the different mechanisms that determine the mechanical behavior of these complex structures. In particular we were able to identify the role of tension and boundary conditions (pinned versus clamped) in determining the mechanical response of electrospun silk fibers. Our findings show that high-resolution mechanical imaging with torsional harmonic atomic force microscopy provides a reliable method to investigate the mechanics of materials with complex geometries.
Evolution in the marketplace

Abstract Evolution theory, while more closely associated with biology than any of the social sciences has become a source of guidance for fields as disparate as archaeology and economics. The purpose of this paper is to characterize the main differences separating biological evolutionary theorists in the waning days of the 20th century — and to draw some simple homilies for those who wish to apply tenets of evolutionary biology to their own disciplines in the social sciences.
Partial reinforcement and extinction of heart rate deceleration in rats with the US interpolated on nonreinforced trials

Abstract Two hundred rats served as Ss in an investigation of the effects of partial reinforcement on conditioned heart rate deceleration. These effects were examined with stimulus-generalization decrement and motivational level controlled. Continuous reinforcement (100%) was compared with three kinds of 50% random partial reinforcement: (a) “standard” partial reinforcement; (b) a condition where the unconditioned stimulus (US) was interpolated at the midpoint of the intertrial interval on nonreinforced trials; and (c) a treatment where the conditioned stimulus (CS) was interpolated on nonreinforced trials. For extinction the acquisition treatments were combined factorially with: (a) US-present or US-absent; and (b) US-interpolated or CS-interpolated procedures. Partial reinforcement failed to produce increased resistance to extinction. Presence of the US on nonreinforced trials in acquisition and extinction depressed performance. The results were interpreted as providing support for a contingency model of conditioning.