cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Serendipitous Language Learning in Mixed Reality

Mixed Reality promises a new way to learn in the world: blending holograms with our surroundings to create contextually rich experiences that find their place in our daily routine. Existing situated learning platforms limit the learner and implicitly enforce the designer's intent by hard-coding content and predetermining what elements in the environment are actionable. In this paper, we define the framework of Serendipitous Learning in Mixed Reality as situated, incidental learning that occurs naturally in the user's environment and stems from the learner's curiosity. This framework is explored within the context of second language acquisition. We present WordSense, a Mixed Reality platform that recognizes objects in the learner's vicinity and embeds holographic content that identifies the corresponding word, provides sentence and definition cues for practice, and displays dynamic audiovisual content that shows example usage. By employing markerless tracking and dynamically linked content, WordSense enables serendipitous language learning in the wild.
A meta-analysis of the relationship between socioeconomic status and executive function performance among children.

The relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and executive function (EF) has recently attracted attention within psychology, following reports of substantial SES disparities in children's EF. Adding to the importance of this relationship, EF has been proposed as a mediator of socioeconomic disparities in lifelong achievement and health. However, evidence about the relationship between childhood SES and EF is mixed, and there has been no systematic attempt to evaluate this relationship across studies. This meta-analysis systematically reviewed the literature for studies in which samples of children varying in SES were evaluated on EF, including studies with and without primary hypotheses about SES. The analysis included 8760 children between the ages of 2 and 18 gathered from 25 independent samples. Analyses showed a small but statistically significant correlation between SES and EF across all studies (rrandom = .16, 95% CI [.12, .21]) without correcting for attenuation owing to range restriction or measurement unreliability. Substantial heterogeneity was observed among studies, and a number of factors, including the amount of SES variability in the sample and the number of EF measures used, emerged as moderators. Using only the 15 studies with meaningful SES variability in the sample, the average correlation between SES and EF was small-to-medium in size (rrandom = .22, 95% CI [.17, .27]). Using only the six studies with multiple measures of EF, the relationship was medium in size (rrandom = .28, 95% CI [.18, .37]). In sum, this meta-analysis supports the presence of SES disparities in EF and suggests that they are between small and medium in size, depending on the methods used to measure them.
Abstract 3139: The microRNA 17-92 Cluster Mediates Sonic Hedgehog-driven Neurogenesis In Ischemic Neural Progenitor Cells

Background: The Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway regulates stroke-induced neurogenesis. The present study investigated the functional role of the microRNA 17-92 (miR17-92) cluster in this process. Methods and Results: Analysis of miRNA microarray and real-time RT-PCR revealed that stroke substantially increased levels of individual members of the miR17-92 cluster: miR-18a (1.8±0.3), miR-19a (2.5±0.4), and miR-92a (1.9±0.3) expression in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) harvested from the subventricular zone (SVZ) of ischemic rats (n=6). Overexpression of the miR17-92 cluster in cultured NPCs significantly increased NPC proliferation measured by the number of BrdU positive cells (52±4% vs 28±2% in empty vector, n=3/group, p Conclusion: Our data suggest a functional role of the miR17-92 cluster in mediating stroke-induced neurogenesis by the SHH/MYC signaling pathway, which provides new insight into molecular mechanisms of stroke-induced neurogenesis.
Abstract P076: Essential Role of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase in Ca2+/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II Activation in Cardiac Myocytes During β-Adrenergic Stimulation

RATIONALE: Stimulation of the beta-adrenergic (beta-AR) pathway leads to positive inotropy, and is the major regulator of heart function. In addition to the traditional PKA pathway, activation of Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) signaling also play important roles in the positive inotropy by modulating ryanodine receptor (RyR) activity. OBJECTIVE: The upstream activators of CaMKII during beta-AR stimulation are not well defined. The purpose of this study is to investigate if there is any cross-talk between the CaMKII and NOS1 signaling pathways. METHODS AND RESULTS: Myocytes were isolated from wildtype (WT, C57Bl/6) and NOS1 −/− mice. Ca 2+ transients (Fluo-4) and cell shortening (edge detection) were simultaneously measured. RyR activity was measured using the SR Ca 2+ leak/load relationship. CaMKII was acutely inhibited by KN93. In WT myocytes, KN93 decreased beta-AR stimulated contraction (Ca2+ transients (Fluo-4) and cell shortening). In NOS1 −/− myocytes, beta-AR stimulated contraction was blunted compared to WT, and KN93 had no further effect on contraction. Furthermore, beta-AR stimulated RyR activity was blunted in NOS1 −/− compared to WT myocytes. As with contraction, KN93 decreased beta-AR stimulated RyR activity in WT myocytes, but had no effect in NOS1 −/− myocytes. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that NOS1 is required for CaMKII-mediated RyR activation which contributes to positive inotropy during beta-AR stimulation. Further study of this pathway is warranted since CAMKII expression and activity are increased in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. A better understanding of the NOS1/CaMKII pathway during beta-AR stimulation has beneficial therapeutic potential for heart diseases.
Clusters of community exposure to coastal flooding hazards based on storm and sea level rise scenarios—implications for adaptation networks in the San Francisco Bay region

Sea level is projected to rise over the coming decades, further increasing the extent of flooding hazards in coastal communities. Efforts to address potential impacts from climate-driven coastal hazards have called for collaboration among communities to strengthen the application of best practices. However, communities currently lack practical tools for identifying potential partner communities based on similar hazard exposure characteristics. This study uses statistical cluster analysis to identify similarities in community exposure to flooding hazards for a suite of sea level rise and storm scenarios. We demonstrate this approach using 63 jurisdictions in the San Francisco Bay region of California (USA) and compare 21 distinct exposure variables related to residents, employees, and structures for six hazard scenario combinations of sea level rise and storms. Results indicate that cluster analysis can provide an effective mechanism for identifying community groupings. Cluster compositions changed based on the selected societal variables and sea level rise scenarios, suggesting that a community could participate in multiple networks to target specific issues or policy interventions. The proposed clustering approach can serve as a data-driven foundation to help communities identify other communities with similar adaptation challenges and to enhance regional efforts that aim to facilitate adaptation planning and investment prioritization.
Threshold Modernism: New Public Women and the Literary Spaces of Imperial London

Threshold Modernism reveals how changing ideas about gender and race in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain shaped - and were shaped by - London and its literature. Chapters address key sites, especially department stores, women's clubs, and city streets, that coevolved with controversial types of modern women. Interweaving cultural history, narrative theory, close reading, and spatial analysis, Threshold Modernism considers canonical figures such as George Gissing, Henry James, Dorothy Richardson, H. G. Wells, and Virginia Woolf alongside understudied British and colonial writers including Amy Levy, B. M. Malabari, A. B. C. Merriman-Labor, Duse Mohamed Ali, and Una Marson. Evans argues that these diverse authors employed the 'new public women' and their associated spaces to grapple with widespread cultural change and reflect on the struggle to describe new subjects, experiences, and ways of seeing in appropriately novel ways. For colonial writers of color, those women and spaces provided a means through which to claim their own places in imperial London.
Postinfluenzal Pulmonary Lesions in Vitamin A Deficient Mice

There were no significant differences in lung virus growth and antibody responses in the NA, RA, and HA diet groups of mice. Epithelialization of the alveolar ducts and alveoli due to peripheral growth of regenerating bronchial epithelial cells was present in all postinfluenzal lesions regardless of diet. However, the postinfluenzal lesions in mice on an NA diet with no liver vitamin A showed extensive epithelial nodule formation with significantly more squamous metaplasia and keratinization than was seen in the lungs of mice on RA and HA diets. The importance of the vitamin A status of the mice in determining the extent of squamous metaplasia and keratinization in postinfluenzal lesions of mice was emphasized.
Consecutive superior oblique palsy after adjustable suture spacer surgery for Brown syndrome: incidence and predicting risk.

Purpose To determine the incidence of and to identify characteristics predicting significant superior oblique palsy (SOP) after adjustable superior oblique suture spacer surgery for treatment of Brown syndrome. Methods The medical records of patients treated for unilateral Brown syndrome with adjustable suture spacers (2005-2016) were reviewed to identify possible association of age at surgery, spacer length, surgeon performing procedure, severity of Brown syndrome, preoperative hypotropia in primary position and affected side gaze, and reduction in Brown restriction on postoperative superior oblique function. “Good” postoperative superior oblique function was defined as absence of hypertropia and diplopia in primary position and no more than intermittent diplopia in downgaze comfortably fused with ≤4Δ base-down or head tilt of Results Median age at surgery was 59 months, interquartile range (IQR) was 32-82 months, and median spacer length was 6 mm (range, 2–7 mm) for 19 included patients. Preoperative median hypotropia was 9Δ (IQR, 0Δ-12Δ) in primary position and 18Δ (IQR, 5Δ-22Δ) in affected side gaze. Of 19 patients, 16 (84%) achieved sufficient resolution of Brown syndrome, but 6 (32%) developed significant SOP. Modest preoperative hypotropia in affected side gaze was the only predictor of significant SOP (likelihood ratio test = 7.11; P = 0.008). Logistic regression modeling enabled estimation of risk of significant SOP based on preoperative side gaze hypotropia. Conclusions Suture spacer surgery can result in significant SOP. Risk may be predicted by magnitude of preoperative side gaze hypotropia.
Projection-based visualization technology and its design implications in space habitats

Abstract The variety of stressors inherent to space missions and other extreme environments can cause crewmembers to experience complex psychological difficulties. Such conditions will likely become more severe during long-duration space flights, exposing crewmembers to situations of extreme sensory deprivation and loneliness. Means to integrate novelty and reduce monotony in space habitat environments can alleviate the negative psychological impacts of long-term space missions. Although various physical and psychological countermeasures have been successfully implemented in orbital spaceflight, deep space travel poses new challenges that will require existing strategies to be adapted and redesigned, and new solutions to be developed. In this paper, we describe how mixed reality technologies can be used to create and deliver stimuli to the crew by eliciting desired emotional responses and enabling novel design opportunities.
Ultrashort Echo-time MRI for the Assessment of Tracheomalacia in Neonates.

Background Bronchoscopy is the gold standard for evaluating tracheomalacia; however, reliance on an invasive procedure limits understanding of normal airway dynamics. Self-gated ultrashort echo-time MRI (UTE MRI) can assess tracheal dynamics but has not been rigorously evaluated. Methods This study was a validation of UTE MRI diagnosis of tracheomalacia in neonates using bronchoscopy as the gold standard. Bronchoscopies were reviewed for the severity and location of tracheomalacia based on standardized criteria. The percent change in cross-sectional area (CSA) of the trachea between end-inspiration and end-expiration was determined by UTE MRI, and receiver-operating curves were used to determine the optimal cutoff values to predict tracheomalacia and determine positive and negative predictive values. Results Airway segments with tracheomalacia based on bronchoscopy had a more than threefold change in CSA measured from UTE MRI (54.4 ± 56.1% vs 14.8 ± 19.5%; P 20% change in CSA) of tracheomalacia had good sensitivity (80%) but low specificity (64%) for identifying tracheomalacia based on UTE MRI, whereas a “strict” definition (> 40% change in CSA) was poorly sensitive (48%) but highly specific (93%). Conclusions Self-gated UTE MRI can noninvasively assess tracheomalacia in neonates without sedation, ionizing radiation, or increased risk. This technique overcomes major limitations of other diagnostic modalities and may be suitable for longitudinal population studies of tracheal dynamics.
'Ban the Box' Policies and Criminal Recidivism

Employment has long been seen as a mechanism for reducing criminal recidivism. As such, many states and municipalities have tried to increase the employment prospects of ex-offenders through "Ban the Box" (BTB) policies, making it illegal to ask about an individual's criminal history on a job application. There are, however, questions as to how effective these policies are at helping ex-offenders successfully stay out of prison. In addition, recent research has shown that BTB policies may lead employers to racially discriminate in hiring. Using administrative prison data, this paper examines the direct effect of BTB policies on rates of criminal recidivism. I find that while BTB policies don't appear to reduce criminal recidivism overall, these policies may be exacerbating racial disparities. In particular, I show that being released into a labor market with a BTB policy is associated with higher rates of recidivism for black ex-offenders, with little to no effect for white ex-offenders. This result is robust to a number of specifications and sub-samples.
Modelling magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium in magnetars with applications to continuous gravitational wave production

Possessing the strongest magnetic fields in the Universe, magnetars mark an extremum of physical phenomena. The strength of their magnetic fields is sufficient to deform the shape of the stellar body, and when the rotational and magnetic axes are not aligned, these deformations lead to the production of gravitational waves (GWs) via a time-varying quadrupole moment. Such gravitational radiation differs from signals presently detectable by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. These signals are continuous rather than the momentary 'chirp' waveforms produced by binary systems during the phases of inspiral, merger, and ringdown. We evaluate the sensitivity requirements of future iterations of GW detectors to continuous GW signals resulting from magnetars. Here, we construct a computational model for magnetar stellar structure with strong internal magnetic fields. We implement an n = 1 polytropic equation of state (EOS) and adopt a mixed poloidal and toroidal magnetic field model constrained by the choice of EOS. We utilize fiducial values for magnetar magnetic field strength and various stellar physical attributes. Via computational simulation, we measure the deformation of magnetar stellar structure to determine upper bounds on the strength of continuous GWs formed as a result of these deformations inducing non-axisymmetric rotation. We compute predictions of upper limit GW strain values for sources in the McGill Magnetar Catalog, an index of all detected magnetars.
2020 Vision for Web Privacy

Privacy is getting eroded as more surveillance is happening. The history of web privacy will be discussed along with a vision for the future. This talk will discuss how web users are tracked, what can be done about it, the impact of web surveillance on society, and privacy regulations. Web privacy has evolved significantly in the past two decades. There was no application-level encryption and snooping on what users were doing was trivial. As encryption, proxies, and other anonymity schemes start getting used, web surveillance has switched to using metadata [1]. At the moment, achieving web privacy is similar to the arms race of virus/anti-virus. New methods to break web users' privacy are found as current vectors are patched or mitigated. Web surveillance or invading web users' privacy can have both useful and harmful consequences. The methods can be used to identify illegal activity and ensure that users are who they say they are. However, these methods can also be used to perform censorship and track what users are doing on the web without their knowledge. The latter could be used for targeted advertising - on one hand, this means more useful advertisements, but on the other, it could mean targeted pricing. Many people might say they have nothing to hide; this talk will show how this is such a misleading myth. The evolution and future of webbrowser fingerprinting [2] and website fingerprinting [3] will be discussed, along with other societal and human impacts of web privacy on the future.
Robot-assisted Synchronous Bilateral Nephrectomy for Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: A Stepwise Description of Technique.

Abstract Objective To describe our technique of robot-assisted synchronous bilateral nephrectomy (RASBN) for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Methods Given prior abdominal surgery/transplant in most patients, we prefer an open cut-down access to place a 12 mm port 10 cm infraumbilically. Four (8 mm) robotic ports are then placed under vision in a fan distribution along the umbilical level. The operating table is placed in reverse Trendelenburg and tilted opposite to the targeted side. Provided there are no concerns for malignancy, some cysts encountered in large kidneys (>2.5 L) may require puncture, to facilitate access and mobilization. The resected kidney is placed in a large bag and tucked in the pelvis. A similar procedure is carried out on the contralateral side after redocking the robot and tilting the table in the opposite direction. The specimen bags are extracted by elongating the lower midline 12 mm port site. Results Seven cases of RASBN performed for ADPKD were identified (December 2015 to December 2018). Median (interquartile range, IQR) values for patient demographics were: Age = 59 years (47-63), body mass index = 29 (26-32), and American Society of Anaesthesiology grade = 3. Three patients had prior deceased- and 4 had prior living- donor transplants. Indication for nephrectomy were: pain (5), hemorrhage into cysts (3), and renal masses (2). Perioperative outcomes were: operating room time = 388 minutes, estimated blood loss = 200 mL, hemoglobin change = 1.3 g/dL, transfusion = 0, length of hospital stay = 3 days, Grade I Clavien-Dindo complications = 2 cases. All patients were alive at a median follow-up of 3.8 years. Conclusion RASBN is safe and effective in ADPKD even in the context of prior renal transplant patients with attendant comorbidities.
Probeware for the Modern Era: IoT Dataflow System Design for Secondary Classrooms

Sensor systems have the potential to make abstract science phenomena concrete for K–12 students. Internet of Things (IoT) sensor systems provide a variety of benefits for modern classrooms, creating the opportunity for global data production, orienting learners to the opportunities and drawbacks of distributed sensor and control systems, and reducing classroom hardware burden by allowing many students to “listen” to the same data stream. To date, few robust IoT classroom systems have emerged, partially due to lack of appropriate curriculum and student-accessible interfaces, and partially due to lack of classroom-compliant server technology. In this article, we present an architecture and sensor kit system that addresses issues of sensor ubiquity, acquisition clarity, data transparency, reliability, and security. The system has a dataflow programming interface to support both science practices and computational data practices, exposing the movement of data through programs and data files. The IoT Dataflow System supports authentic uses of computational tools for data production through this distributed cloud-based system, overcoming a variety of implementation challenges specific to making programs run for arbitrary duration on a variety of sensors. In practice, this system provides a number of unique yet unexplored educational opportunities. Early results show promise for Dataflow as a valuable learning technology from research conducted in a high school classroom.
α-Methyl-l-tryptophan as a weight-loss agent in multiple models of obesity in mice.

α-Methyl-L-tryptophan (α-MLT) is currently in use as a tracer in its 11C-labeled form to monitor the health of serotonergic neurons in humans. In the present study, we found this compound to function as an effective weight-loss agent at pharmacological doses in multiple models of obesity in mice. The drug was able to reduce the body weight when given orally in drinking water (1 mg/ml) in three different models of obesity: normal mice on high-fat diet, Slc6a14-null mice on high-fat diet, and ob/ob mice on normal diet. Only the l-enantiomer (α-MLT) was active while the d-enantiomer (α-MDT) had negligible activity. The weight-loss effect was freely reversible, with the weight gain resuming soon after the withdrawal of the drug. All three models of obesity were associated with hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis; α-MLT reversed these features. There was a decrease in food intake in the treatment group. Mice on a high-fat diet showed decreased cholesterol and protein in the serum when treated with α-MLT; there was however no evidence of liver and kidney dysfunction. Plasma amino acid profile indicated a significant decrease in the levels of specific amino acids, including tryptophan; but the levels of arginine were increased. We conclude that α-MLT is an effective, reversible, and orally active drug for the treatment of obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Probing the Local pH during HER on TiO2 Promoted Co-Mo Electrocatalysts

The HER catalytic performance of electrodeposited Co-Mo thin film electrocatalysts in base can be improved by incorporating nano-TiO2 particles into the metal matrix.1-2 The HER overpotential was significantly reduced, and the exchange current density was substantially higher compared to its Co-Mo counterpart. The embedded TiO2 particles were found to also affect the partial current density of metal deposits during the electrodeposition process. To further probe the influence of the TiO2 particles on both the HER and the electrodeposition, the local pH was investigated. The Co-Mo and Co-Mo-TiO2 thin films were deposited onto copper mesh electrodes from a sulfate-citrate electrolyte with particles suspended in the electrolyte. The HER activity was evaluated in a 1 M NaOH electrolyte at room temperature. The surface morphology was characterized by SEM, and deposit composition was assessed by XRF and EDS. With an in-house designed, 3D printed experimental setup, the local pH of the cathode was monitored during galvanostatic deposition and HER electrolysis. During the electrodeposition process, the trend of local pH change with and without TiO2 particles are the same, consistent with their similar HER partial current densities. During the HER electrolysis, as the current density increases, the local pH value of Co-Mo without particles increases considerably, while the local pH value of Co-Mo-TiO2 remains unaltered. This result suggest that TiO2 particles can buffer the electrode surface and is an important factor in improving the HER catalytic performance. Wang, C.; Bilan, H. K.; Podlaha, E. J., Electrodeposited Co-Mo-TiO2 Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction. Journal of The Electrochemical Society 2019, 166 (10), F661-F669.Wang, C.; Podlaha, E. J., Communication-Electrodeposited Co-Mo-P-TiO2 Composites Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 2020.
Backgrounds and motivations of faith-based halfway-house volunteers

This study examines the backgrounds and motivations of individuals who volunteer for a Protestant Christian faith-based halfway-house for recently released offenders. Drawing on eight in-depth interviews with volunteers from a faith-based ministry located in a Southern city, the study examines how and why volunteers come to their positions and what they perceive as rewards of their work. Typically, volunteers report receiving more benefits themselves than they perceive offender clients receiving. Chief among perceived rewards are a transparent community in which volunteers could safely share personal aspects of themselves than what they could experience elsewhere. This study provides valuable information to scholars, legislators, and correctional professionals by showing that faith-based ministries do not necessarily emphasize the religious aspect of their program.
Kinematics of Continuum Motion

The mechanics of solids involves the motion of continuous, deformable solid material when acted on by applied forces. In the present chapter, we examine the geometry or kinematics of this motion without regard for the actual forces required to produce it. In particular, we associate a material point, or particle, with each geometric point of the material and take as our problem that of describing the geometry involved in the motion of these particles. Such considerations will lead us, in turn, to the well-known concepts of deformation, strain, and rotation in the neighborhood of a material point.
The consequences of population health for economic performance

This chapter goes beyond the traditional economic thinking about the relationship between health and income – simply stated: wealth is needed to achieve health – by presenting evidence that population health is an important factor in strengthening economies and reducing poverty. The world's overarching framework for reducing poverty is expressed in the UN's eight Millennium Development Goals. Three of these eight goals pertain to health: reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. These potentially huge improvements in health are extremely important goals in themselves, and they serve as beacons toward which numerous development efforts are oriented. But these potential improvements in health are not only endpoints that we seek through a variety of means. The improvements are actually instruments for achieving economic growth and poverty reduction. That is, better health does not have to wait for an improved economy; measures to reduce the burden of disease, to give children healthy childhoods, to increase life expectancy will in themselves contribute to creating healthier economies.
De novo inference of stratification and local admixture in sequencing studies.

Analysis of population structures and genome local ancestry hasbecome increasingly important in population and disease genetics. With the advance of next generation sequencing technologies, complete genetic variants in individuals' genomes are quickly generated, providing unprecedented opportunities for learning population evolution histories and identifying local genetic signatures at the SNP resolution. The successes of those studies critically rely on accurate and powerful computational tools that can fully utilize the sequencing information. Although many algorithms have been developed for population structure inference and admixture mapping, many of them only work for independent SNPs in genotype or haplotype format, and require a large panel of reference individuals. In this paper, we propose a novel probabilistic method for detecting population structure and local admixture. The method takes input of sequencing data, genotype data and haplotype data. The method characterizes the dependence of genetic variants via haplotype segmentation, such that all variants detected in a sequencing study can be fully utilized for inference. The method further utilizes a infinite-state Bayesian Markov model to perform de novo stratification and admixture inference. Using simulated datasets from HapMapII and 1000Genomes, we show that our method performs superior than several existing algorithms, particularly when limited or no reference individuals are available. Our method is applicable to not only human studies but also studies of other species of interests, for which little reference information is available. Software Availability: http://stat.psu.edu/~yuzhang/software/dbm.tar
The influence of environmental temperature on thyroid, adrenal, and water metabolism in the newborn human infant.

Measurements of fluid and caloric intake, urine output, urine osmolality, creatinine clearance, weight change, 48-hour PBI and thyroid radioiodine clearance, 4-hour hematocrit increment, and 12-hour urinary 17-OH-CS excretion have been conducted in newborn term infants exposed to relatively cold ambient temperature (23-29°C) and contrasted with values in infants incubated at ambient air temperatures of 31-40°C during the first 36-48 hours of life. Deep rectal and skin temperatures were consistently lower in the infants in the cooler environment. Non-incubated infants showed significantly higher PB! values and higher thyroid radioiodine clearance at 48 hours than did the incubated infants, suggesting that the usual feedback suppression of TSH secretion is inoperative in the infants in the colder environment. These observations are in agreement with the hypothesis that the neonatal hyperthyroid state is the result of thermal receptor stimulation of TSH secretion by the relatively cold extrauterine environment. The cooler non-incubated infants showed significantly greater urine volumes with significantly lower (urine) osmolality than did the incubated infants. Mean osmolal and creatinine clearance were similar in the two groups of infants. Although this cold induced water diuresis seems most likely due to a larger fluid intake in the non-incubated infants in response to a greater metabolic rate, the observation of similar non-renal water metabolism in cold and warm infants suggests the possibility of a primary "cold diuresis" similar to that observed during acute cold exposure in adults. A significantly greater increment in hematocrit was observed during the first 4 hours in the colder infants. The mechanism of this response, presumably due to a displacement of plasma volume from the vascular compartment, remains to be defined. Urinary methylene chloride extractable 17-OH-CS excretion was similar in the cold exposed and the incubated infants.
Genetic ablation of ryanodine receptor 2 phosphorylation at Ser‐2808 aggravates Ca2+‐dependent cardiomyopathy by exacerbating diastolic Ca2+ release

Phosphorylation of the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) by protein kinase A (PKA) at Ser-2808 is suggested to mediate the physiological 'fight or flight' response and contribute to heart failure by rendering the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) leaky for Ca(2+). In the present study, we examined the potential role of RyR2 phosphorylation at Ser-2808 in the progression of Ca(2+)-dependent cardiomyopathy (CCM) by using mice genetically modified to feature elevated SR Ca(2+) leak while expressing RyR2s that cannot be phosphorylated at this site (S2808A). Surprisingly, rather than alleviating the disease phenotype, constitutive dephosphorylation of Ser-2808 aggravated CCM as manifested by shortened survival, deteriorated in vivo cardiac function, exacerbated SR Ca(2+) leak and mitochondrial injury. Notably, the deteriorations of cardiac function, myocyte Ca(2+) handling, and mitochondria integrity were consistently worse in mice with heterozygous ablation of Ser-2808 than in mice with complete ablation. Wild-type (WT) and CCM myocytes expressing unmutated RyR2s exhibited a high level of baseline phosphorylation at Ser-2808. Exposure of these CCM cells to protein phosphatase 1 caused a transitory increase in Ca(2+) leak attributable to partial dephosphorylation of RyR2 tetramers at Ser-2808 from more fully phosphorylated state. Thus, exacerbated Ca(2+) leak through partially dephosphorylated RyR2s accounts for the prevalence of the disease phenotype in the heterozygous S2808A CCM mice. These results do not support the importance of RyR2 hyperphosphorylation in Ca(2+)-dependent heart disease, and rather suggest roles for the opposite process, the RyR2 dephosphorylation at this residue in physiological and pathophysiological Ca(2+) signalling.
Thoughts from SNP-SIG 2012: future challenges in the annotation of genetic variations.

Overview Advances in high-throughput sequencing, genotyping, and characterization of haplotype diversity are consistently generating vast amounts of genomic data. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most common type of genetic variation [1]. In the recent years the number of known SNPs has been increasing exponentially [2]; the last release of the NCBI’s dbSNP database [3] contained more than 55 million human SNPs. SNPs are interesting as both markers of evolutionary history and in the context of their phenotypic manifestations (e.g. characteristic traits and diseases). However, due to their sheer number, detailed experimental annotations are impossible and computational inference is severely limited by the required resources. SNPs also present a challenge for visualization and storage. In line with the increasing interest in the genetic variation analysis and annotation, on July 14th, 2012 [4] we organized the second SNP Special Interesting Group (SNP-SIG) meeting at the ISMB’12 in Long Beach, CA. This meeting attempted to summarize the field’s research advances in the directions of “Annotation and prediction of structural/functional impacts of coding SNPs” and “SNPs and Personal Genomics: GWAS, populations and phylogenetic analysis”. The discrepancy between the significant availability of the SNP data and the current lack of its interpretation requires the development of new computational annotation methods. The analysis of genetic variation is a key factor for the understanding of the genomic information. The SNP-SIG provides a forum necessary for the organization of a research network facilitating the exchange of ideas and for the establishment of new
Comparison among soil series and extraction methods for the analysis of trifluralin

Accurate analytical procedures are needed to improve understanding of the fate and transport of trifluralin, a chemical widely used as a herbicide. Analytical determination of trifluralin is challenging due to its hydrophobic, yet volatile, character and its tendency to degrade into numerous metabolites. In this research, efficient analytical methods for fortified and field-incurred soils were developed for simultaneous quantitation of trifluralin, I [2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzenamine, CAS Registry No. 1582-09-8; CAS Registry No. have been provided by the author], a trifluralin metabolite, II [2,6-dinitro-N-propyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzenamine, CAS Registry No. 2077-99-8], and a related trifluoromethyldinitroaniline isomer of trifluralin, III [2,4-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-6-(trifluoromethyl)benzenamine, CAS Registry No. 23106-20-9]. Extractions of trifluralin (0.5 and 2.5 μg/g) from silt loam, sandy loam, and silty clay soils were compared. A method was developed for the supercritical f...
Dialogue Journals: A Way to Personalize Communication in a Foreign Language

Student journals have been widely used to encourage self-expression in elementary school classes and in English as well as ESL courses at the secondary and university levels. In an effort to individualize (eaching, foreign language instructors can also use journals to carry on a continuous dialogue with each student. The instructor writes comments about the topic that the individual student has chosen and also corrects vocabulary, grammatical, and idiomatic errors after each journal entry. These “dialogue journals” are ideal for personalizing communication in foreign language courses and can be used on elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. This article explains how to implement “dialogue journals” in a typical second-semester French class, where, with the help of a diary, students can apply recently acquired grammatical structures and idioms to express their own concerns and interests. Students gain self-confidence and freedom of expression by writing informally about topics that are of personal interest to them. The journals are a perfect supplement to the artificial dialogues and standardized reading passages of many foreign language textbooks. Practical guidelines for journal assignments are provided, and sample journal entries illustrate how successful the results can be.
Reversed Micellar Extraction of Charged Fusion Proteins

We have investigated the use of charged fusion tails with the enzyme glucoamylase in reversed micellar extraction. The addition of the charged tails increased the fraction of enzymatically active protein recovered at a given pH, with the tails containing the largest number of charges being recovered at the highest level. The series of mutations also allows for investigation of the charge-dependent behavior of reversed micellar extraction. However, in this case, the change in protein charge via fusions had a lesser impact than did the change in charge via a pH change. The difference may be due to the difficulty of partitioning the hydrodynamically larger fusion protein.
Production of 89Zr via the 89Y(p,n)89Zr reaction in aqueous solution: effect of solution composition on in-target chemistry.

Abstract Objective The existing solid target production method of radiometals requires high capital and operational expenditures, which limit the production of radiometals to the small fraction of cyclotron facilities that are equipped with solid target systems. Our objective is to develop a robust solution target method, which can be applicable to a wide array of radiometals and would be simply and easily adopted by existing cyclotron facilities for the routine production of radiometals. Method We have developed a simplified, solution target approach for production of 89 Zr using a niobium target by 14 MeV energy proton bombardment of aqueous solutions of yttrium salts via the 89 Y( p , n ) 89 Zr nuclear reaction. The production conditions were optimized, following a detailed mechanistic study of the gas evolution. Results Although the solution target approach avoided the expense and complication of solid target processing, rapid radiolytic formation of gases in the target represents a major impediment in the success of solution target. To address this challenge we performed a systematic mechanistic study of gas evolution. Gas evolution was found to be predominantly due to decomposition of water to molecular hydrogen and oxygen. The rate of gas evolutions varied >40-fold depending on solution composition even under the same irradiation condition. With chloride salts, the rate of gas evolution increased in the order rank Na 89 Zr was produced in moderate yield (4.36±0.48 MBq/μA • h) and high effective specific activity (464±215 MBq/μg) using the solution target approach (2.75M yttrium nitrate, 1.5N HNO 3 , 2h irradiation at 20μA). Conclusion The novel findings on substrate dependent, radiation-induced water decomposition provide fundamental data for the development and optimization of conditions for solution targets. The developed methodology of irradiation of nitrate salts in dilute nitric acid solutions can be translated to the production of a wide array of radiometals like 64 Cu, 68 Ga and 86 Y, and is well suited for short-lived isotopes.
Genetic segregation analysis of autonomic nervous system dysfunction in families of probands with idiopathic congenital central hypoventilation syndrome.

Idiopathic congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) is a very rare syndrome with major respiratory complications. Hypothesizing that CCHS is the most severe manifestation of general autonomic nervous system dysfunction (ANSD), we applied a case-control family study design to investigate the genetics of ANSD. Fifty-two probands with CCHS were identified, as well as 52 age-, race-, and gender-matched controls. ANSD phenotypic features were characterized in the cases, controls, and their family members. Our earlier studies found that most ANSD symptoms were more likely in CCHS cases and their relatives than in controls and their relatives (P < 0.05). The goal of the current study was to determine if the familiality of ANSD was consistent with a genetic pattern. We performed major locus segregation analysis of ANSD utilizing regressive models. CCHS probands were assumed to be affected; controls and relatives were designated as affected if they had two or more relevant symptoms. The hypothesis of “no transmission and no familial effects” was rejected in both case and control families. Case families were consistent with transmission of a major effect; control families were not (the difference in the pattern of results was significant, P < 0.0001). In the total data set, the best-fitting model was codominant Mendelian inheritance of a major gene for ANSD. These case-control family studies support our hypothesis that CCHS is the most severe manifestation of a general ANSD, with a family pattern consistent with Mendelian transmission, and demonstrate the potential utility of the approach to studies of other, similarly intractable disorders. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Politics squeezed through a police state: Policing and vinculación in post-1968 Mexico City

Abstract Contemporary political geographers accommodate everyday practice in accounts of state power but arguably tend to retain a bias towards sites easily identified with the state. This bias complements a frequent conflation of policing and the state in recent scholarship on the post-political. This article challenges these assumptions by showing how rituals of anti-stateness may themselves paradoxically give to the senses a partitioned world of state domination and non-state resistance that delimits political possibility. I specifically examine activist participation in such policing through analysis of student-left commemorations of 1968 in Mexico City. My analysis of such activism also reveals tension in processes that consolidate a partitioned state/non-state world. I show that, through vinculacion , some activists establish unaccounted-for solidarities that exceed the categories through which state power has in the past been exercised, reconfiguring relations between people whose place vis-a-vis the state would otherwise be predictable. I therefore reveal ongoing interplay between processes of politics and policing, not a “post-political condition” that would demand, as politics, the negation of any social-spatial order.
Potential effects of managed care organizations in rural communities: A framework

Summary This article has provided a conceptual framework regarding the implications of a growing MCO presence in rural areas. This framework addresses factors likely to influence the degree of MCO presence in any given rural community, as well as the possible effects of that presence on rural consumers, employers, providers, and the uninsured. These factors vary across communities and will result in variation in the nature and importance of MCOs among rural communities. The arguments and considerations presented are based on analysis of MCO, employer, and consumer behavior, informed by research findings relating to MCOs in urban areas. The issues discussed raise a number of questions that deserve to be addressed through empirical research focused specifically on rural populations. The appendix contains a summary list of these questions. The next article reviews the results of existing research studies as they bear on these research questions and other issues raised in this article.
Study of Crystal Packing on the Solid-State Reactivity of Indomethacin with Density Functional Theory

Solid-state reactions are highly anisotropic. Different polymorphs of the same compound may have remarkably different chemical reactivities. It was reported that two polymorphs of indomethacin single crystals, α- and γ-forms, reacted with ammonia gas at dramatically different rates. In this study, the effect of crystal packing on their difference in chemical reactivity was investigated by examining the electronic structures and properties of the crystal forms. Ab initio methods, including density functional theory, were used to calculate electronic structures of the α- and γ-forms of indomethacin. In particular, nuclear Fukui functions were obtained to elucidate how a molecule in a crystal may respond to an electronic perturbation that can be caused by a chemical reaction. Different conformers in the two polymorphs showed different electronic structures. The carboxylic group of one symmetrically different molecule in the α-form had significantly larger nuclear Fukui functions than those of other molecules of either the α- or γ-form, supporting the experimental observation that the α-form was much more reactive with ammonia than the γ-form. In addition, the large nuclear Fukui functions associated with atoms other than those from the carboxylic group were attributed to the tension of two dislodged aromatic rings. Electronic calculations were able to provide insightful glimpses into the effect of crystal packing on the solid-state reaction of indomethacin. The nuclear Fukui function, which characterizes the physical stress on an atom due to perturbation in electron density, may provide a powerful means of studying the solid-state reactions of organic crystals at the electronic level.
Prevention of aspirin inhibition of platelet release reaction by the fatty acid precursor of platelet prostaglandins

Abstract Preincubating human platelet-rich citrated plasma with eicosatetraenoic acid (E-tetra), the immediate precursor of PGE2 and F2α, prevents the inhibitory effect of aspirin on the release reaction induced by epinephrine, ADP, thrombin or collagen. The methyl ester of E-tetra as well as a saline solution of arachidonyl C1 had the same effect as the free acid. In striking contrast to E-tetra, E-tri or its methyl ester, E-penta, stearic, oleic, linoleic and γ-linolenic acid failed to prevent the inhibitory effect of aspirin. Although E-tetra alone induces the release reaction, this phenomenon does not explain the action of E-tetra in blocking effects of aspirin. Thus, we tentatively postulate that E-tetra's unique protection of the platelet against the untoward effect of aspirin, may be attributable to the role it plays in platelet prostaglandin synthesis.