cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design of a Precision, Self-Powered Time-Keeping Device using Coupled Fowler-Nordheim Tunneling

Self-powered clocks and time-keeping devices provide an ability to synchronize events across passive internet-of-things and tags that are spatially separated from each other. In this regard, Fowler-Nordheim tunneling based self-powered timers have been shown to reliably track time with an operating life-cycle greater than 2 years. However, the synchronization accuracy of a single FN-timer is determined by the variations in timer-device artifacts which could only be partially mitigated using ensemble averaging. In this paper, we propose a novel capacitively coupled network of FN-tunneling timers that can significantly improve the accuracy in presence of both timer-device and coupling capacitor mismatch. Using Monte-carlo simulations, we show that by choosing an appropriate size of the coupled network, the synchronization accuracy of the timekeeping device can be increased by a factor of 20dB.
Analysis of Factors Affecting Injury Severity in Traffic Crashes on Arizona Tribal Lands

Reducing fatal and serious injuries sustained in traffic crashes on tribal lands is a priority of federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. In the state of Arizona, the proportion of...
Abstract 2441: Association between NRF1 regulatory gene networks and cancer and aging

There is a growing convergence between molecular aspects of aging and cancer. Cellular senescence acts as a barrier through preventing the proliferation of cells under oncogenic stress. Therefore, we decided to examine the role of nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1) transcription factor in human brain cancer and brain aging. In contrast to higher expression of NRF1 in human glioma tumors, lower NRF1 levels are observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain tissue. Using the glioma and AD transcriptomic data of NRF1 target genes, we conducted Transcription Factor Target Enrichment Analysis that detects transcription factor (TF) activity based on quantification of the collective transcriptional activation of their target genes. NRF1 TF activity was significantly lower in AD brain tissues from four independent cohorts compared to non-AD brain tissues. In contrast, we observed higher NRF1 transcription factor activity in glioma. NRF1 activity as well as expression of several cell cycle pathway genes including CDK1,2,6,9 and NRF1 target genes such as NR2E1, APOE and MAPT are significantly altered in these two population cohorts. We also discovered that expression of NRF1, RB1 and E2F influenced survival in glioma. Specifically, the mean overall survival for patients with a high NRF1, E2F1,2,6,7,8 and RB1 gene signature was 20.91 months (95% CI = 9.37-32.46), compared to 101.99 months (95% CI = 74.28-129.70), in high NRF1 expressing patients that lacked the specific gene signature. NRF1 based gene signatures combined with IDH1 mutation status are necessary and sufficient for explaining the observed differences in survival curves. We examined the association of NRF1, the E2Fs and RB1 through Bayesian graphical modeling and observed gender differences in gene networks between NRF1 and E2F family members in the glioma patient sub-populations as compared to normal aging human brain samples. Furthermore, the differentially expressed NRF1 regulated genes are part of the KEGG pathways associated with spliceosome, ribosome and lysosome function as well as a diverse array of other functions are enriched, indicating ways in which NRF1 may be involved in glioma biology. In summary these findings support our postulate that NRF1 is an important transcription factor in the human brain, where it plays an active role in both aging and cancer. Citation Format: Kaumudi Bhawe, Quentin Felty, Changwon Yoo, Deodutta Roy. Association between NRF1 regulatory gene networks and cancer and aging [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2441.
Is clinician assessment accurate or is routine pan-body CT needed in the stable intoxicated trauma patient?

Abstract Background We sought to determine if clinician suspicion of injury was useful in predicting injuries found on pan-body computed tomography (PBCT) in clinically intoxicated patients. Methods We prospectively enrolled awake, intoxicated patients with low-energy mechanism of injury. For each of four body regions (head/face, neck, thorax and abdomen/pelvis), clinician suspicion for injury was recorded as “low index” or “more than a low index”. The reference standard was the presence of any pre-defined significant finding (SF) on CT. Sensitivity, specificity, positive (LR+) and negative (LR-) likelihood ratios were calculated. Results Enrollment of 103 patients was completed. Sensitivity, specificity, LR+ and LR-for clinician index of suspicion were: 56%, 68%, 1.75, 0.64 (head/face), 50%, 92%, 6.18, 0.54 (neck), 10%, 96%, 2.60, 0.94 (thorax) and 67%, 93%, 9.56, 0.36 (abdomen/pelvis). Conclusion Clinician judgement was most useful to guide need for CT imaging in the neck and abdomen/pelvis. Routine PBCT may not be necessary. Summary For awake, stable intoxicated patients after falls and assaults, clinician index of suspicion was most useful to guide the need for CT imaging in the neck and abdomen/pelvis. Our findings support selective use of CT if the index of suspicion is low. Routine PBCT may not be necessary.
DNA-Based Nanofabrication for Antifouling Applications.

This paper reports antifouling properties of nanostructured SiO2 substrates patterned by DNA lithography. We used DNA triangle nanostructures as templates to produce triangular-shaped trenches ca. ...
Hippotherapy: a systematic mapping review of peer-reviewed research, 1980 to 2018.

AbstractPurpose: Comprehensively and systematically map peer-reviewed studies of hippotherapy published over 30 years, from 1980 through 2018, from the perspective of a phased scientific approach t...
Paper-based passive pumps to generate controllable whole blood flow through microfluidic devices.

Fluid manipulation in microfluidic systems is often controlled by active pumps that are relatively large in size and require external power sources which limit their portability and use in limited-resource settings. In this work, portable, detachable, low-cost, and power-free paper pumps with engineered capillary tubes (referred to as “grooves”) that can passively drive viscous fluids based on capillary action are presented. The proposed grooved paper pumps are capable of generating a controllable flow of complex biofluids within microfluidic devices with minimal user intervention and no external power sources. The pumping performance of grooved paper pumps in this study is tested with undiluted, unseparated whole blood samples – demonstrating successful transport of approximately 150 μL of blood within an average time of 5 minutes to 50 minutes, depending on their design parameters. Results for the flow rate of grooved paper pumps indicate that the number of grooves created within the porous paper determines the profile of the generated flow rate. The experimental data also show that as the number of grooves in the pumps is increased, the flow rate approaches a constant value for the entire duration of pumping before the pump becomes saturated. The promising performance of grooved paper pumps with whole blood offers potential applications of these small, disposable pumps in point-of-care diagnostics in which time is crucial and access to external power is limited.
M2: An architectural system for computer design

ion Representation Compilation ARCHITECTURE Structure Organization Behavior IMPLEMENTATION Technology Physical design
Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Schedule: Adherence Among Commercially Insured Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States, 2011-2017.

Objectives. To determine rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine adherence to the 2011 and 2016 Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations in the United States.Methods...
Knowledge and behaviors toward COVID-19 among U.S. residents during the early days of the pandemic

Abstract Objective To test the hypothesis that knowledge of COVID-19 influences participation in different behaviors including self-reports of purchasing more goods than usual, attending large gatherings, and using medical masks. Methods Cross-sectional online survey of 1,034 U.S. residents age 18+ conducted on March 17, 2020. Results For every point increase in knowledge, the odds of participation in purchasing more goods (OR=0.88, 95% CI:0.81-0.95), attending large gatherings (OR=0.87, 95%CI: 0.81-0.93), and using medical masks (OR=0.56, 95% CI:0.50-0.62) decreased by 12%, 13%, and 44%, respectively. Gen X and Millennial participants had 56% to 76% higher odds, respectively, of increased purchasing behavior, compared to Baby Boomers. Results suggest politicization of response recommendations. Democrats had 30% lower odds of attending large gatherings (OR=0.70, 95% CI:0.50-0.97), and 48% lower odds of using medical masks (OR=0.52, 95% CI:0.34-0.78), compared to Republicans. Conclusions This survey is one of the first attempts to study determinants of knowledge and behaviors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. A national, coordinated effort at pandemic response may ensure better compliance with behavioral recommendations to address this public health emergency.
Social Protest and New Media

Digital media are helping people self-organize and coordinate massive protests in the absence of formal organizations. This is challenging old theories of collective action, and encouraging research on large-scale communication networks. This article gives an overview of digitally enabled protests, and assesses the evidence on how new media facilitate their spread and coordination.
Quantifying concordance of correlated cosmological data sets

We develop estimators of agreement and disagreement between correlated cosmological data sets. These account for data correlations when computing the significance of both tensions and excess confirmation while remaining statistically optimal. We discuss and thoroughly characterize different approaches commenting on the ones that have the best behavior in practical applications. We complement the calculation of their statistical distribution within the Gaussian model with one estimator that takes non-Gaussianities fully into account. To illustrate the use of our techniques, we apply these estimators to supernovae measurements of the distance-redshift relation, absolutely calibrated by the local distance ladder. The suite of best estimators that we discuss finds results that are in excellent agreement between estimators and find no indications of significant internal inconsistencies in this data set above the 1% probability threshold. This shows the robustness of local determinations of the Hubble constant to features in the distance-redshift relation.
Reduced Artifact Approach for Determining Diffusion Coefficients in Time-Resolved Microscopy

Ultrafast microscopy methods traditionally assume a Gaussian profile to extract excited state diffusivities from transport measurements. Although this fitting method recovers accurate diffusion coe...
Patients with surgically treated culture-negative native joint septic arthritis have less severe disease and better outcomes

Background: Patients with culture-negative septic arthritis patients are often treated surgically but might be successfully managed medically. We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes in p...
Isolating the energetic and mechanical consequences of imposed reductions in ankle and knee flexion during gait

Weakness of ankle and knee musculature following injury or disorder results in reduced joint motion associated with metabolically expensive gait compensations to enable limb support and advancement. However, neuromechanical coupling between the ankle and knee make it difficult to discern independent roles of these restrictions in joint motion on compensatory mechanics and metabolic penalties. We sought to determine relative impacts of ankle and knee impairment on compensatory gait strategies and energetic outcomes using an unimpaired cohort (N = 15) with imposed unilateral joint range of motion restrictions as a surrogate for reduced motion resulting from gait pathology. Participants walked on a dual-belt instrumented treadmill at 0.8 m s−1 using a 3D printed ankle stay and a knee brace to systematically limit ankle motion (restricted-ank), knee motion (restricted-knee), and ankle and knee motion (restricted-a + k) simultaneously. In addition, participants walked without any ankle or knee bracing (control) and with knee bracing worn but unrestricted (braced). When ankle motion was restricted (restricted-ank, restricted-a + k) we observed decreased peak propulsion relative to the braced condition on the restricted limb. Reduced knee motion (restricted-knee, restricted-a + k) increased restricted limb circumduction relative to the restricted-ank condition through ipsilateral hip hiking. Interestingly, restricted limb average positive hip power increased in the restricted-ank condition but decreased in the restricted-a + k and restricted-knee conditions, suggesting that locking the knee impeded hip compensation. As expected, reduced ankle motion, either without (restricted-ank) or in addition to knee restriction (restricted-a + k) yielded significant increase in net metabolic rate when compared with the braced condition. Furthermore, the relative increase in metabolic cost was significantly larger with restricted-a + k when compared to restricted-knee condition. Our methods allowed for the reproduction of asymmetric gait characteristics including reduced propulsive symmetry and increased circumduction. The metabolic consequences bolster the potential energetic benefit of targeting ankle function during rehabilitation. N/A.
Population Responses to Environmental Change: Looking Back, Looking Forward.

Over the past two decades, population researchers have engaged in a far-reaching and productive program of research on demographic responses to changes in the natural environment. This essay “looks back” to the origins of these developments, identifying pivotal agenda-setting moments in the 1990s and tracing the impact on contemporary research. The essay also “looks forward” to identify critical gaps and challenges that remain to be addressed and to set an agenda for future research on population responses to environmental change. It recommends that the multidimensionality of environmental contexts and change be fully embraced, long run as well as short term effects be investigated, variability in the effects of environmental change in relation to social institutions, policy implementation, and environmental context be examined, movement between contexts as well as change in situ as sources of environmental change be considered, and interconnections among demographic processes in response to environmental change be explored. Taking these steps will position demographers to contribute significantly to a larger and deeper understanding of environmental change and its consequences, locally, regionally, and globally.
Correlation between socioeconomic disadvantage in preschool children and brain organization: a functional NIRS connectivity study

Socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to be related to brain development and cognitive performance. We present a functional NIRS connectivity analysis in children with different SES during a working memory task.
A Quasiexperimental Analysis of First-Year Seminar Outcomes at a Large University:

First-year seminars (FYS) comprise one of 11 researched interventions in postsecondary education known as High-Impact Practices, but few rigorous studies report significantly high impacts. This stu...
Teaching Auction Strategy Using Experiments Administered via the Internet

The authors present an experimental design used to teach concepts in the economics of auctions and implications for e-Business procurement. The experiment is easily administered and can be adapted to many different treatments. The chief innovation is that it doce not require the use of a lab or class time. Instead, the design can be implemented on any of the many Web-based auction sites (we use Yahoo!). This design has been used to demonstrate how information is transmitted by bids in an auction and how this can make it difficult for well-informed bidders to profit from their information, leading to disincentives tor relatively informed bidders to enter an auction. Consequently, an auction may sometimes be an ineffective mechanism for procurement. compared with other options. The auction experiment shows how information can dramatically affect market outcomes and bidder incentives.
Junk Philosophy of Science: The Paradox of Expertise and Interdisciplinarity in Federal Court

Although "Daubert, perhaps, represents nothing more, or less, than that henceforth the legal culture must assimilate the scientific culture," the interdisciplinary interaction between law and the philosophy of science has, to date, been disappointing. While the process of assimilation certainly has captured the attention of legal scholars - much has been written about Daubert ("an avalanche of commentary") - only a few commentators have focused on Daubert's minimalistic description of the scientific process or the philosophy of science that underlies Daubert and its progeny. According to many recent scholarly accounts, the "fairy tale" view of science as objective and its history as a linear progression towards truth about nature has been replaced in the federal courts by the modern view of science as tentative, uncertain, and embedded in culture. In our view, this account is a new fairy tale about how those who have rejected the old tale have settled matters. We argue that the view proposed by many commentaries on Daubert - that the Court vacillated between traditionalist and constructivist views of science - sets up an erroneous dichotomy that not only eclipses the diversity of positions in science studies but also misses entirely a third approach adopted by some federal courts in applying Daubert. This third approach is neither traditional nor constructivist. Rather, it is a pragmatic approach to scientific evidence we call "pragmatic constructivism," which "constructs a science for the case" and satisfies neither traditionalists nor constructivists.
Repair of Chronic Tympanic Membrane Perforations Using Epidermal Growth Factor

Perforation of the tympanic membrane (TM) is a frequent cause of conductive hearing loss. Persistent TM perforations often require surgical repair with an autologous tissue graft to restore hearing and prevent recurrent infection. While highly efficacious, this method of closure requires a relatively complex and expensive microsurgical procedure. We have recently developed a chronic TM perforation model in the chinchilla for use in the exploration of novel methods of TM repair.
Cardiovascular disease and the kidney. Tracking a killer in chronic kidney disease.

PREVIEWCardiovascular disease (CVD) is prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is responsible for the majority of morbidity and mortality in this patient population. Although many identifiable risk factors and therapeutic strategies exist for treatment of CVD, most of them are underused in the care of patients who have kidney disease. In this article, Drs Levin, Stevens, and McCullough highlight the issues concerning treatment of CVD in patients who have CKD. Early recognition of both CKD and attendant CVD is becoming the purview of the primary care physician in conjunction with members of subspecialty teams.
Securities Selection and Portfolio Optimization: Is Money Being Left on the Table?

In this report we ask the questions Can fund managers form better-performing portfolios of stocks or bonds, in particular, can they take advantage of: 1) Single-index Capital Asset Pricing Models (CAPM), 2) Multi-factor models, 3) Generalized CAPM (G-CAPM) to improve stock and bond mutual fund performance? We find the following answers: 1) Using CAPM can increase gross annual returns by 70 basis points to 80 basis points, 2) Using multi-factor models can increase gross annual returns by 200 basis points or more, 3) Using G-CAPM can increase gross annual returns by 300 basis points or more.
Chapter 14 Perforin and the Mechanism of Lymphocyte-Mediated Cytolysis

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the current state of knowledge of the structure and function of perforin. The properties of other granule proteins, granzymes and proteoglycan, are reviewed in this chapter. Perforin is localized in the cytoplasmic granules of cytolytic T cells and NK cells, where it is associated with the granule proteoglycan chondroitin sulfate A. Because they contain perforin, isolated cytoplasmic granules are highly cytolytically active in the presence of Ca. Perforin has recently been isolated and characterized, including sequence determination by complementary (cDNA) cloning. The tools generated by this work are being used for a critical assessment of the role of perforin as opposed to other molecules in lymphocyte-mediated cytolysis. Lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity by perforin has three effects. The direct membrane damage by transmembrane channel formation can lead to target cell lysis by the effects of osmotic imbalance and the loss of the transmembrane potential.
The structure of human beta-defensin-1: new insights into structural properties of beta-defensins.

Defensins are a class of small cationic peptides found in higher organisms that serve as both antimicrobial and cell signaling molecules. The exact mechanism of the antimicrobial activity of defensins is not known, but two models have been postulated, one involving pore formation and the other involving nonspecific electrostatic interaction with the bacterial membrane. Here we report the high resolution structures of human β-defensin-1 (hBD1) in two crystallographic space groups. The structure of a single molecule is very similar to that of human β-defensin-2 (hBD2), confirming the presence of an N-terminal α-helix. However, while the packing of hBD1 is conserved across both space groups, there is no evidence for any larger quaternary structure similar to octameric hBD2. Furthermore, the topology of hBD1 dimers that are formed between monomers in the asymmetric unit is distinct from both hBD2 and other mammalian α-defensins. The structures of hBD1 and hBD2 provide a first step toward understanding the structural basis of antimicrobial and chemotactic properties of human β-defensins.
Epithelial Amino Acid Transport in Marine Mussels: Role in Net Exchange of Taurine between Gills and Sea Water

The exchange of taurine across epidermal epithelia of Mytilus edulis and M. californianus was studied U9ing radiotracer and chromatographic (HPLC) methods. Gill levels of taurine in both species ranged from 60 to 70μmolg−1 wet weight. Net uptake of taurine, determined using HPLC, occurred down to ambient concentrations as low as 10 nmol−1. The rate of taurine loss from mussels was about 0.02/μmolg−1 wet body weighth−1, and when exposed to amino-acid-free sea water, external taurine concentration increased until a steady-state of about 15 nmoll−1 was achieved. Mussels accumulated inhibitors of taurine transport at rates which were directly related to their relative inhibitory capacities: β-alanine >β-aminobutyric acid ⋍ γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Addition of large concentrations (50–200 μmol−1) of GABA resulted in a rapid increase in taurine concentration in test solutions. This increase was consistent with a model in which GABA both competitively inhibits the reaccumulation of endogenous taurine lost from epidermal tissues, and accelerates the exchange diffusion of taurine from surface cells. We suggest that epidermal taurine transport in Mytilus assists in the maintenance of large intracellular taurine concentrations, and can serve to reaccumulate up to 30 % of the taurine lost from surface tissues by passive processes.
Assessment of magnitude and availability of a non‐drug reinforcer on preference for a drug reinforcer

This study examined choice of beer over an alternative, non-drug reinforcer (food or money), under conditions where the magnitude and availability of the non-drug reinforcer was varied. Normal volunteers participated in three sessions consisting of a computerized choice task followed by a period of relaxation and consumption of earned reinforcers. The computer task consisted of a concurrent choice schedule in which the availability of the non-drug reinforcer was varied across ‘trials’ from random ratio 1.3 to 16 (probability of reinforcement: 75 per cent to 6 per cent). Across the three sessions the magnitude of the non-drug reinforcer was varied (i.e. small, medium, large). The magnitude and availability of beer remained constant across trials at a random ratio 4 (probability of reinforcement: 25 per cent). Two experiments were conducted, one in which food was the alternative reinforcer (Experiment I) and one in which money was the alternative reinforcer (Experiment II). In both experiments, decreasing the response requirement for the non-drug reinforcer within the sessions resulted in an orderly decrease in the amount of responding to obtain alcohol. In Experiment I, changes in the magnitude of the food reinforcer did not change responding for beer. In Experiment II, however, responding for beer decreased when the magnitude of the alternative monetary reinforcer was increased. Thus, changes in the magnitude of an alternative reinforcer may have differential effects on responding for a drug reinforcer, depending on the nature of the alternative reinforcer.
Pumping of common gases by ionization gauges used in space simulation facilities.

Hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and helium gas pumping by ionization pressure gauges in space simulators
EFFECTIVE SAMPLING SCHEMES FOR BEHAVIOR DISCRIMINATION IN NONLINEAR SYSTEMS

In this work, we investigated the problem of choosing effective data sampling schemes for behaviour discrimination of ODE systems. Using a probabilistic framework to estimate the boundary that separates contrast behaviours and quantify the uncertainty in discrimination, we suggested two classes of sampling schemes: the low-discrepancy sampling, and the sequential sampling. In both cases, we successfully derived theoretical results about the convergence of the expected boundary to the true boundary of interest. We then demonstrate the efficacy of the method in different application contexts. The method proves to be effective to study high-dimensional and expensive systems.
Thyroid Cell Differentiation from Murine Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Background: Here we demonstrate the successful differentiation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into functional thyroid cells indicating the therapeutic potential of this approach when applied to individuals with thyroid deficiency. Research Design and Methods: Using embryonic murine fibroblasts we generated iPS cells with a single lentiviral “stem cell cassette” (STEMCCA) vector and then differentiated these IPS cells into thyroid cells after transfection with PAX8 and NKX2-1 by Activin A and TSH stimulation. Results: The generated iPS cells expressed pluripotent stem cell markers as assessed using both reverse transcription quantitative PCRs (RT-qPCR) and Immunofluorescence staining with approximately 0.5% reprogramming efficiency. Compared to control cells, the expression of thyroid specific genes NIS, TSHR, Tg and TPO were greatly enhanced in PAX8+NKX2-1+ iPS cells after differentiation. On stimulation with TSH these differentiated iPS cells were also capable of dose-dependent cAMP generation and radioiodine uptake indicative of functional thyroid epithelial cells. Furthermore, the cells formed three-dimensional follicles in culture, and “thyroid organoids” formed after PAX8+NKX2-1+ iPS cells transplanted into nude mice, and all expressed Tg protein as judged immnohistochemically. Taken together, thyroid epithelial cells differentiated from iPS cells which were themselves derived from murine fibroblasts exhibited very similar properties to thyroid cells previously developed from traditional murine embryonic stem cells. Conclusion: Thyroid cells differentiated from IPS cells offer the opportunity to examine the detailed transcriptional regulation of thyroid cell differentiation and may provide a useful future source for individualized regenerative cell therapy.
Facts, Fictions, and Common Sense About Factors and Components.

(1990). Facts, Fictions, and Common Sense About Factors and Components. Multivariate Behavioral Research: Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 47-51.
Toward an anthropology of dogmatism. II. Traditionalism, modernism, existentialism, and the counter culture: All in the Family.

This paper is the second in a series designed to “anthropologize” the psychology of dogmatism, i.e., to suggest that there are important cultural implications in the Rokeach concept and in certain dogmatism research findings. The series embeds closedmindedness-openmindedness within the Traditionalism-Modernism model of personality. Thus, Traditional Man is authoritarian, closedminded, dogmatic, and intolerant; and this shows itself in his attitudes toward blood transfusions and heart transplants. But, the paper suggests, Traditional Man is also someone who appreciates the analogical, the animistic, the ascriptive, the autistic, the charismatic, the communionistic, the distinctive, the dreamy, the einfuehlunglich, the familial, the fantastic, the geisteswissenschaftlich, the gemeinschaftlich, the humanistic, the idealistic, the inner creative, the intangible, the intuitional, the I-Thou, the moralistic, the normative, the personalistic, the phenomenological, the primary process, the religious, the romantic...
Environmental risk factors for primary malignant brain tumors : a review

This review suggests that existing theories of carcinogenesis provide much of the necessary framework for understanding the etiologies of malignant gliomas. Most of the environmental risk factors associated with brain tumors involve exposures to infectious, chemical, or physical agents capable of inflicting genetic damage. It is equally important to recognize that some potential risk factors for brain tumors, if their association proves causal, suggest as yet unknown or undefined mechanisms of carcinogenesis. For example, the mechanisms through which extremely-low-frequency electromagnetic fields might induce cancer are unknown, but interest in this area is intensifying [165]. Large population based studies currently being conducted throughout the world will help to estimate the relative importance of some suspected factors. Several of the most serious limitations of previous studies can be overcome by careful study design including sample size planning to ensure adequate power for important hypotheses and subgroup analyses, systematic pathology review to enable analyses by histologie type, collecting sufficiently detailed exposure data to minimize recall problems and permit flexibility in classifications, and using rapid case ascertainment systems to minimize the need for interviews with proxies and concomitant reporting bias. Furthermore, as important genes for brain tumors are identified, they can be used to further refine subtype classifications and to improve sensitivity in the search for environmental culprits.
Chronic hindlimb ischemia impairs functional vasodilation and vascular reactivity in mouse feed arteries.

Vasodilation of lower leg arterioles is impaired in animal models of chronic peripheral ischemia. In addition to arterioles, feed arteries are a critical component of the vascular resistance network, accounting for as much as 50% of the pressure drop across the arterial circulation. Despite the critical importance of feed arteries in blood flow control, the impact of ischemia on feed artery vascular reactivity is unknown. At 14 days following unilateral resection of the femoral-saphenous artery-vein pair, functional vasodilation of the profunda femoris artery was severely impaired, 11 ± 9% versus 152 ± 22%. Although endothelial and smooth muscle-dependent vasodilation were both impaired in ischemic arteries compared to control arteries (Ach: 40 ± 14% vs 81 ± 11%, SNP: 43 ± 12% vs and 85 ± 11%), the responses to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside were similar, implicating impaired smooth muscle-dependent vasodilation. Conversely, vasoconstriction responses to norepinephrine were not different between ischemic and control arteries, -68 ± 3% versus -66 ± 3%, indicating that smooth muscle cells were functional following the ischemic insult. Finally, maximal dilation responses to acetylcholine, in vitro, were significantly impaired in the ischemic artery compared to control, 71 ± 9% versus 97 ± 2%, despite a similar generation of myogenic tone to the same intravascular pressure (80 mmHg). These data indicate that ischemia impairs feed artery vasodilation by impairing the vascular wall’s responsiveness to vasodilating stimuli. Future studies to examine the mechanistic basis for these observations or treatment strategies to improve feed artery vasodilation following ischemia could provide the foundation for an alternative therapeutic paradigm for peripheral arterial occlusive disease.
Sexually dimorphic effects of postnatal allopregnanolone on the development of anxiety behavior after early deprivation

Abstract Stress early in life exerts persistent detrimental effects on brain development. In this experiment, a rodent model of child neglect, early deprivation (ED), was used to investigate the role of the neurosteroid allopregnanolone [AlloP; 3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one (3α,5α-THP)] in the development of anxiety behavior. Subjects were either undisturbed controls or ED: separated individually for 6 h per day from postnatal day (PN) 2 to 6. Control and ED subjects were also either noninjected, vehicle-injected or injected with 5 mg/kg AlloP prior to the isolation. At PN 7, responses to 2.5 or 5 μg icv injections of AlloP were determined for separation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Tolerance to the USV-reducing effect of daily AlloP was seen in control but not ED pups, and daily AlloP reversed the expected ED suppression of USVs. As adults, controls treated with postnatal AlloP were less anxious than all other groups on the elevated plus maze. ED counteracted this effect. Male controls showed a reversal of the typical sex difference. There were no effects on open-field activity. These results suggest that the neonatal brain is responsive to alterations in AlloP levels, and that neuroactive progesterone metabolites may play a role in mediating the development of stress-related sex differences.
Stress optical behavior in polystyrene; residual stresses and birefringences in large, quenched samples

In a basic study of the nonequilibrium glassy state of polystyrene, two related areas have been investigated. The first dealt with homogeneous samples and included work on volume aging and the effect of temperature on the stress (and strain) optical coefficients and on the modulus. The second dealt with nonhomogeneous samples and included measurement of the frozen-in birefringence in large, quenched samples and analysis of this residual birefringence, and also the stress, with residual stress theory. The theory used was that of Aggarwala and Saibel, which is a special case of the more general theory of Lee, Rogers, and Woo.
Organic Polymer Materials with High Electro-Optic Coefficients

Pseudo-atomistic Monte Carlo calculations are used to guide the design of single and multi-chromophore-containing dendritic organic glasses that yield electro-optic coefficients (at telecommunication wavelengths) in the range 300-400 pm/V.
Rigorous model-based uncertainty quantification with application to terminal ballistics—Part II. Systems with uncontrollable inputs and large scatter

This work is concerned with establishing the feasibility of a data-on-demand (DoD) uncertainty quantification (UQ) protocol based on concentration-of-measure inequalities. Specific aims are to establish the feasibility of the protocol and its basic properties, including the tightness of the predictions afforded by the protocol. The assessment is based on an application to terminal ballistics and a specific system configuration consisting of 6061-T6 aluminum plates struck by spherical S-2 tool steel projectiles at ballistic impact speeds. The system's inputs are the plate thickness and impact velocity and the perforation area is chosen as the sole performance measure of the system. The objective of the UQ analysis is to certify the lethality of the projectile, i.e., that the projectile perforates the plate with high probability over a prespecified range of impact velocities and plate thicknesses. The net outcome of the UQ analysis is an M/U ratio, or confidence factor, of 2.93, indicative of a small probability of no perforation of the plate over its entire operating range. The high-confidence (>99.9%) in the successful operation of the system afforded the analysis and the small number of tests (40) required for the determination of the modeling-error diameter, establishes the feasibility of the DoD UQ protocol as a rigorous yet practical approach for model-based certification of complex systems.
Mass Degeneracy of the Heavy Mesons

Consequences of the assumption that the $\ensuremath{\theta}\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\tau}$ mass degeneracy is not accidental, but follows from some symmetry principle, are discussed. This assumption implies, among other things the existence of doublets of opposite parity for all particles of odd strangeness number, such as ${\ensuremath{\Lambda}}^{0}$ and ${\ensuremath{\Sigma}}^{\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}}$, ${\ensuremath{\Sigma}}^{0}$.
Computer-aided design versus sketching: An exploratory case study

This paper presents a preliminary comparison between the role of computer-aided design (CAD) and sketching in engineering through a case study of a senior design project and interviews with industry and academia. The design team consisted of four senior level mechanical engineering students each with less than 1 year of professional experience are observed while completing an industry sponsored mechanical engineering capstone design project across a 17 week semester. Factors investigated include what CAD tools are used, when in the design process they are implemented, the justification for their use from the students' perspectives, the actual knowledge gained from their use, the impact on the final designed artifact, and the contributions of any sketches generated. At each design step, comparisons are made between CAD and sketching. The students implemented CAD tools at the onset of the project, generally failing to realize gains in design efficiency or effectiveness in the early conceptual phases of the design process. As the design became more concrete, the team was able to recognize clear gains in both efficiency and effectiveness through the use of computer assisted design programs. This study is augmented by interviews with novice and experienced industry users and academic instructors to align the trends observed in the case study with industry practice and educational emphasis. A disconnect in the perceived capability of CAD tools was found between novice and experienced user groups. Opinions on the importance of sketching skills differed between novice educators and novice industry professionals, suggesting that there is a change of opinion as to the importance of sketching formed when recent graduates transition from academia to industry. The results suggest that there is a need to emphasize the importance of sketching and a deeper understanding as to the true utility of CAD tools at each stage of the design process.
Proof of Bose-Einstein condensation for dilute trapped gases.

The ground state of bosonie atoms in a trap has been shown experimentally to display Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). We prove this fact theoretically for bosons with two-body repulsive interaction potentials in the dilute limit, starting from the basic Schrodinger equation; the condensation is 100% into the state that minimizes the Gross-Pitaevskii energy functional This is the first, rigorous proof of BEC in a physically realistic, continuum model.
Photoinduced electron transfer quenching of excited Ru(II) polypyridyls bound to DNA : the role of the nucleic acid double helix

In the presence of double helical polynucleotides (sodium poly(dA-dT).poly(dA-dT) or calf thymus DNA), the efficiency of oxidative or reductive electron transfer between photoexcited ruthenium(II) chelates Ru(tap)2(hat)2+ or Ru(phen)2+(3) (where tap = 1,4,5,8-tetraazaphenanthrene, hat = 1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene, and phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) and appropriate cationic quenchers (ethidium, Ru(NH3)3+(6), methyl viologen, or M(phen)3+(3), where M = Co, Rh, Cr) increases 1-2 orders of magnitude compared to the efficiency of the same quenching in microhomogeneous aqueous medium (kq = 0.3-1.8 x 10(9) M-1 s-1). The enhancement is more pronounced when the binding constant of the quencher (10(3) less than Kb less than 10(6) M-1) is large. Similar trends are found when the biopolymers are replaced by sodium poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS). The accelerated electron transfer process is proposed to be due mainly to the effect of accumulation of the reagents in the electrostatic field of the polymer; if corrections for this effect are introduced (e.g. ratioing [quencher]/[polynucleotide]), the reaction rate becomes essentially independent of the polymer concentration. Based upon a model for electron transfer reaction of the complexes within a small cylindrical interface around the DNA helix, calculations of the bimolecular electron transfer rate constants are computed to be 10(3) times smaller when the reactants are bound to the double-stranded polynucleotides and decreased mobility of the cationic species is apparent. The effect is less pronounced if a simpler polyelectrolyte (PSS) is employed. Emission lifetimes of the Ru(II) polypyridyls bound to the DNA (0.32-2 microseconds, double exponential decays) are discussed as well.
Binding of glycoprotein Srr1 of Streptococcus agalactiae to fibrinogen promotes attachment to brain endothelium and the development of meningitis.

The serine-rich repeat glycoprotein Srr1 of Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) is thought to be an important adhesin for the pathogenesis of meningitis. Although expression of Srr1 is associated with increased binding to human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMEC), the molecular basis for this interaction is not well defined. We now demonstrate that Srr1 contributes to GBS attachment to hBMEC via the direct interaction of its binding region (BR) with human fibrinogen. When assessed by Far Western blotting, Srr1 was the only protein in GBS extracts that bound fibrinogen. Studies using recombinant Srr1-BR and purified fibrinogen in vitro confirmed a direct protein-protein interaction. Srr1-BR binding was localized to amino acids 283–410 of the fibrinogen Aα chain. Structural predictions indicated that the conformation of Srr1-BR is likely to resemble that of SdrG and other related staphylococcal proteins that bind to fibrinogen through a “dock, lock, and latch” mechanism (DLL). Deletion of the predicted latch domain of Srr1-BR abolished the interaction of the BR with fibrinogen. In addition, a mutant GBS strain lacking the latch domain exhibited reduced binding to hBMEC, and was significantly attenuated in an in vivo model of meningitis. These results indicate that Srr1 can bind fibrinogen directly likely through a DLL mechanism, which has not been described for other streptococcal adhesins. This interaction was important for the pathogenesis of GBS central nervous system invasion and subsequent disease progression.
Fully automated assessment of the severity of Parkinson's disease from speech

Abstract For several decades now, there has been sporadic interest in automatically characterizing the speech impairment due to Parkinson's disease (PD). Most early studies were confined to quantifying a few speech features that were easy to compute. More recent studies have adopted a machine learning approach where a large number of potential features are extracted and the models are learned automatically from the data. In the same vein, here we characterize the disease using a relatively large cohort of 168 subjects, collected from multiple (three) clinics. We elicited speech using three tasks – the sustained phonation task, the diadochokinetic task and a reading task, all within a time budget of 4 min, prompted by a portable device. From these recordings, we extracted 1582 features for each subject using openSMILE, a standard feature extraction tool. We compared the effectiveness of three strategies for learning a regularized regression and find that ridge regression performs better than lasso and support vector regression for our task. We refine the feature extraction to capture pitch-related cues, including jitter and shimmer, more accurately using a time-varying harmonic model of speech. Our results show that the severity of the disease can be inferred from speech with a mean absolute error of about 5.5, explaining 61% of the variance and consistently well-above chance across all clinics. Of the three speech elicitation tasks, we find that the reading task is significantly better at capturing cues than diadochokinetic or sustained phonation task. In all, we have demonstrated that the data collection and inference can be fully automated, and the results show that speech-based assessment has promising practical application in PD. The techniques reported here are more widely applicable to other paralinguistic tasks in clinical domain.
Maribavir: a new oral anti-cytomegalovirus drug

Prophylactic drug therapy for cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in stem cell and solid organ transplant recipients is effective and simple to implement, with oral ganciclovir and oral valganciclovir as the primary agents. The main problems with the ganciclovir derivatives are myelotoxicity and development of resistance. The new antiviral drug, maribavir, in Phase III clinical trials of CMV prophylaxis after stem cell and liver transplantation, works through a mechanism distinct from that of ganciclovir and shows no myelotoxicity or cross-resistance. The primary toxicity is headache and taste disturbance. If the clinical trials are effective, it is expected that maribavir will be available in 2009. The availability of a new antiviral agent will help in the control of the persistent bane of transplant care.
8-OH-DPAT Interacts With Sexual Experience and Testosterone to Affect Ejaculatory Response in Rats

Abstract Studies investigating the effect of 8-OH-DPAT (DPAT) on male sexual response have typically used subjects having variable sexual experience and levels of testosterone, factors known to independently influence male sexual behavior. This experiment examined the role of these two variables in the mediation of DPAT effects on sexual behavior. One hundred and six castrated males, half of whom received sexual experience, were tested with an effective dose of 8-OH-DPAT (0.1 mg/kg) or saline. In addition, males were tested under one of three regimens of testosterone. Results indicated that DPAT and testosterone exerted independent effects on ejaculatory measures, and along with sexual experience, showed interactive effects as well. When testosterone (T) levels were substantially below normal, DPAT showed no effect. When T reached threshold levels, the DPAT effect was limited to sexually experienced males. At high T levels, both experienced and naive males exhibited strong effects from DPAT. In contrast with ejaculatory measures, mounting and intromitting behaviors were relatively unaffected by DPAT. These results emphasize the importance of specifying both the animal’s sexual history and its testosterone profile in studies investigating pharmacological effects on sexual response.