cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of pulmonary edema in phasic changes of cerebral oxygenation during serial seizures.

Abstract To examine whether pulmonary dysfunction leads to episodes of cerebral hypoxia during recurrent seizures, measurements were made of arterial blood pressure, blood-gases, cerebral pO2, and relative changes in cytochrome a, a3 redox levels in anesthetized, paralyzed rats. Seizures were induced serially with bicuculline (BIC) or pentylenetetrazol (PTZ). During early seizures, cerebral oxygenation increased phasically. As seizures continued, a transition often occurred following which seizures were accompanied by phasic decreases in cerebral oxygenation. In addition, pulmonary edema often occurred at an unpredictable point during a series of seizures. Seizure-associated pulmonary edema was less likely to occur with pentobarbital anesthesia and PTZ seizures, than with nitrous oxide anesthesia and BIC seizures. Pulmonary edema was always accompanied by prolonged increases in blood pressure and paroxysmal electrocortical activity, and by hypoxemia, acidemia, and decreased cerebral oxygen supply. Despite the severity of these physiological changes, the transition from phasic increases to decreases in cerebral oxygenation during serial seizures occurred with virtually the same frequency in rats with and without pulmonary edema. This indicates that this transition is independent of pulmonary edema.
Polarization studies using the neutron spin-precession method with a continuous energy spectrum of neutrons☆

Abstract Precise measurements of the polarization of neutrons in the MeV region have frequently made use of the spin-precession method. These measurements have been carried out with nearly mono-energetic neutron sources. In this paper, we present a development of the method that makes it suitable for the more general class of experiments involving a continuous energy spectrum of neutrons. For a fixed value of the solenoidal field, the angles of precession for neutrons of all energies are determined using a high resolution time-of-flight spectrometer. The power of the technique is demonstrated by measuring the polarization of photoneutrons from the reaction 16 O (γ, n ) 15 O at an angle of 45°. The neutron energy range covered in a single experiment is from 5 to 15 MeV.
Fatty acid composition of lymphocyte membrane phospholipids in children with acute leukemia

The composition of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) of separated mononuclear blood cells (MNC) from patients with leukemia was established by high-resolution gas chromatography. Abnormal fatty acid concentrations are detected in the MNC membrane phospholipids in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) without a deficiency of essential fatty acids (EFA). Significantly reduced relative levels of linoleic acid (4.35 vs. 7.82%; P<0.001) are found in the MNC-PL in patients with ALL as compared to a healthy control group. Moreover, the Delta6-desaturated fatty acids are increased: gamma-linoleic acid (3.56 vs. 0.17%; P<0.001), arachidonic acid (21.82 vs. 16.27%; P<0.05), docosatetraenoic acid (3.52 vs. 1.56%; P<0.001), docosapentaenoic acid (0.34 vs. 0.04%; P<0.001), octadecatetraenoic acid (0.53 vs. 0.23%; P<0.05), eicosatetraenoic acid (1.83 vs. 0.08%; P<0.001) and docosahexaenoic acid (2.77 vs. 1.54%; P<0.001). A increased Delta(6)-desaturase activity is postulated as the cause for the increased level of desaturate products or the increased Delta6-activity index (Ratio of gamma-linoleic acid+dihomogamma-linolenic acid to linoleic acid) (1.21 vs. 0.27; P<0.001). The Delta6-enzyme activities measured using linoleic acid and alpha-linoleic acid as substrate underscore these findings (Delta6(n-6); 2.49 vs. 0.65 and Delta6(n-3); 2.75 vs. 1.12 nmol x h(-1)/10(8) MNC). In contrast, patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) do not show any significant differences in the lymphocyte membrane PLFA and no Delta6-desaturase abnormalities.
A Critical Review of the Science and Practice of Competency Modeling

As an alternative to traditional job analysis, the practice of competency modeling may be appealing to scholars and practitioners of human resource development (HRD) to serve as the foundation for ...
Product performance as a unifying theme in concurrent design—II. Software

Abstract Engineering design involves the satisfaction of customer needs, These needs, whether explicitly stated or only implicitly defined, must be translated into a set of specifications for a product. The subsequent stages of design, fabrication, and maintenance are dedicated to the fulfillment of these specifications. The task of concurrent design is to ensure that the product performs as specified, with fidelity and consistency. Ensuring product performance is the objective of quality assurance. Software packages can be developed to assist in this effort, ranging from the initial phase of requirements definition to production control and maintenance.
Quantitative allelic test--a fast test for very large association studies.

Advances in high throughput technology have enabled the generation of unprecedented amounts of genomic data (e.g., next generation sequence data, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics), which promises to unravel the genetic architecture of complex traits. These discoveries may lead to novel therapeutic targets, guide disease prevention, and enable personalized medicine. However, the pace of data generation surpasses the ability to process and analyze the vast amounts of data. For example, in a typical study of transcription regulation, the relationship between more than 1 million genetic variants and ten thousand transcript levels are explored, requiring tens of billions of tests. In order to address this problem, we propose a fast, accurate, and robust method that can assess the significance of associations between quantitative phenotypes and genotypes. The method is an extension of the allelic test commonly used in case-control studies for the analysis of quantitative traits. We show the asymptotic equivalence of the proposed test to linear regression results. We also reduce a generalized linear regression problem to the comparison of two groups, which can handle non-normal and survival time phenotypes.
Four-α-Helix Bundle with Designed Anesthetic Binding Pockets. Part I: Structural and Dynamical Analyses

The four-a-helix bundle mimics the transmembrane domain of the Cys-loop receptor family believed to be the protein target for general anesthetics. Using high resolution NMR, we solved the structure (Protein Data Bank ID: 2I7U) of a prototypical dimeric four-a-helix bundle, (Aa2-L1M/L38M)2, with designed specific binding pockets for volatile anesthetics. Two monomers of the helix-turn-helix motif form an antiparallel dimer as originally designed, but the high-resolution structure exhibits an asymmetric quaternary arrangement of the four helices. The two helices from the N-terminus to the linker (helices 1 and 19) are associated with each other in the dimer by the side-chain ring stacking of F12 and W15 along the long hydrophobic core and by a nearly perfect stretch of hydrophobic interactions between the complementary pairs of L4, L11, L18, and L25, all of which are located at the heptad e position along the helix-helix dimer interface. In comparison, the axes of the two helices from the linker to the C-terminus (helices 2 and 29) are wider apart from each other, creating a lateral access pathway around K47 from the aqueous phase to the center of the designed hydrophobic core. The site of the L38M mutation, which was previously shown to increase the halothane binding affinity by ;3.5-fold, is not part of the hydrophobic core presumably involved in the anesthetic binding but shows an elevated transverse relaxation (R2) rate. Qualitative analysis of the protein dynamics by reduced spectral density mapping revealed exchange contributions to the relaxation at many residues in the helices. This observation was confirmed by the quantitative analysis using the Modelfree approach and by the NMR relaxation dispersion measurements. The NMR structures and Autodock analysis suggest that the pocket with the most favorable amphipathic property for anesthetic binding is located between the W15 side chains at the center of the dimeric hydrophobic core, with the possibility of two additional minor binding sites between the F12 and F52 ring stacks of each monomer. The high-resolution structure of the designed anesthetic-binding protein offers unprecedented atomistic details about possible sites for anesthetic-protein interac- tions that are essential to the understanding of molecular mechanisms of general anesthesia.
Opponent and nonopponent contributions to the zebrafish electroretinogram using heterochromatic flicker photometry.

While some lower vertebrates, such as zebrafish, do not appear to possess anatomically separate pathways of processing visual information (such as M-pathways and P-pathways), it is believed that separate processing of the visual stimulus (such as luminance and chromatic processing) is a basic requirement of vertebrate vision. In this study, spectral sensitivity functions were obtained from electroretinogram responses to heterochromatic flicker photometry stimuli at several flicker rates, including a low flicker rate (2 Hz), in an attempt to predominately stimulate chromatic processes and a high flicker rate (16 Hz), in an attempt to predominately stimulate luminance processes. In addition, chromatic adaptation was used to isolate and examine the temporal properties of the different cone-type contributions to the electroretinogram response. Spectral sensitivity functions based on responses to heterochromatic stimuli of a low flicker rate appeared to receive both opponent and nonopponent contributions; however, when the stimulus flicker rate was high, spectral sensitivity appeared to be a function of only nonopponent mechanisms. Also, the differences in cone contributions to the spectral sensitivity functions across the different flicker rates appear to be related to the temporal properties of the cone contributions to the electroretinogram response.
Cell type-dependent differences in thyroid peroxidase cell surface expression.

Recently, it has been suggested that only ∼2% of human thyroid peroxidase (hTPO933) reaches the surface of stably transfected (Chinese hamster ovary) cells, most being degraded intracellularly, and this might be representative of thyroid peroxidase (TPO) behavior in thyrocytes (Fayadat, L., Siffroi-Fernandez, S., Lanet, J., and Franc, J.-L. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 15948–15954). In agreement, in stably transfected Madin-Darby canine kidney clones, nonpermeabilized cells exhibit wild-type hTPO933 immunofluorescence (apically) on
Ergodicity and dynamical properties of constant-temperature molecular dynamics.

The assumption of ergodicity in Nos\'e's original formulation of the constant-temperature molecular dynamics is tested for a Lennard-Jones-potential system. With the performance of very long simulations, it is shown that the extended system of a Lennard-Jones-potential system is ergodic for all values of thermostat parameters tested. It is also shown, however, that the rate of convergence to the canonical ensemble strongly depends on the value of thermostat effective mass Q. The dynamical properties of the extended system are also studied using the velocity autocorrelation function and the power spectral density. From the analysis of the simulations, it is found that the dynamical properties are not correctly represented for arbitrary values of thermostat parameters. A prescription and a set of quantitative criteria are introduced to generate physically meaningful dynamics. Thus the results of this work show that with a special choice of thermostat parameters it is possible to obtain both the correct canonical ensemble and physically meaningful dynamical behavior of the physical system.
Tonic efferent-induced cochlear damping in roosting and echolocating mustached bats

Abstract The activity of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent system in mustached bats, Pteronotus p. parnellii , was studied by monitoring changes in the mechanical properties of the cochlea. The changing properties were expressed by the decay time (DT) of cochlear microphonic potentials produced by transient-induced ringing ( Henson et al., 1995 ). Tape-recorded roost noise (biosonar and communication sounds) produced sudden, marked decreases in DT when presented to the contralateral ear of animals adapted to the quiet. When the animals were first removed from their roosts the DT was relatively short (1.2–1.5 ms) but this gradually lengthened by about 0.5–1.0 ms as they rested in a quiet chamber. The time required to reach a stable, quiet-adapted state after noise exposure varied with SPL and exposure time; in many experiments recovery was in the range of 90–120 min. When quiet-adapted bats were isolated and allowed to fly and echolocate for 20 min, the DTs measured within a few minutes after the end of the flight were also short and only slowly returned to longer preflight values. The administration of a single dose of gentamicin, which blocks MOC effects, greatly reduced the amount of suppression (damping) observed after periods of noise and echolocation sound exposure. We conclude that tonic MOC activity is induced by the natural vocalizations and roost noise and this activity probably regulates and protects the highly resonant cochlear partition.
On (2 + 1)-dimensional Friedmann–Robertson–Walker universes: an Ermakov–Pinney equation approach

In this letter, we examine the reduction of Friedmann–Robertson–Walker-type models in 2 + 1 dimensions, to an Ermakov–Pinney equation. The procedure is used to derive previously known solutions for some specific cosmological models. It is also examined as an inverse problem, wherein the scale factor of the metric or the scalar field coupled to it are postulated and the remaining 'data' of the problem (such as e.g., the scalar field potential) are reconstructed systematically via the Ermakov–Pinney approach. This alternative approach allows us to construct novel solutions for a number of different scalar potentials.
Challenges in Intelligence Analysis, Lessons from 1300 BC to the Present

Challenges in Intelligence Analysis offers readers a framework for understanding the problems of intelligence analysis along with strategies for solving them. Thirty-nine case studies of varying le...
Hybrid Fault Adaptive Control of a Mobile Robot

A novel fault adaptive control methodology for a mobile robot is presented in this paper. A bond-graph based modeling technique is used for fault detection and isolation. A hierarchical control accommodation framework is developed for a supervisory controller that determines a suitable control strategy to accommodate the isolated fault. It is shown in the paper that for small degradations, a robust controller achieves fault accommodation without significant loss of performance. However, for large faults, the supervisor needs to switch among several controllers to maintain acceptable performance. Simulation results verify the proposed fault adaptive control technique for a mobile robot.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Integral Reinforcement Learning for online computation of feedback Nash strategies of nonzero-sum differential games

This paper presents an Approximate/Adaptive Dynamic Programming (ADP) algorithm that finds online the Nash equilibrium for two-player nonzero-sum differential games with linear dynamics and infinite horizon quadratic cost. Each of the game players is using the procedure of Integral Reinforcement Learning (IRL) to calculate online the infinite horizon value function that it associates with every given set of feedback control policies. It will be shown that the online algorithm is mathematically equivalent to an offline iterative method, previously introduced in the literature, that solves the set of coupled algebraic Riccati equations (ARE) underlying the game problem using complete knowledge on the system dynamics. Here we show how the ADP techniques will enhance the capabilities of the offline method allowing an online solution without the requirement of complete knowledge of the system dynamics. The two participants in the continuous-time differential game are competing in real-time and the feedback Nash control strategies will be determined based on online measured data from the system. The algorithm is built on interplay between a learning phase, where each of the players is learning online the value that they associate with a given set of play policies, and a policy update step, performed by each of the payers towards decreasing the value of their cost. The players are learning concurrently. The feasibility of the ADP scheme is demonstrated in simulation.
International Summer Program in Railroad Engineering

The railroad industry has identified a need for engineers as many will be retiring over the next few years and freight rail traffic is predicted to increase. The challenge is finding engineers from university campuses, where careers and education in railroad engineering have been forgotten. Michigan Tech University saw a unique opportunity for innovative six-credit summer program that combines introductory railroad engineering with cultural and language studies and includes a study-abroad component. The railroad industry is supporting the program by providing guest lecturers, industry-hosted technical tours and scholarships. The program has increased students' excitement toward rail careers and allowed them to experience and compare two different rail systems and cultures. The industry has responded by setting up summer internships for program participants and by hiring several of them for full time positions. This paper will highlight the features of the program, the outcomes, future opportunities, successes and lessons learned in setting up an escorted study abroad experience in engineering.
Acyclic orientations of graphs

Let G be a finite graph with p vertices and @g its chromatic polynomial. A combinatorial interpretation is given to the positive integer(-1)^[email protected]([email protected]), where @l is a positive integer, in terms of acyclic orientations of G. In particular, (-1)^[email protected](-1) is the number of acyclic orientations of G. An application is given to the enumeration of labeled acyclic digraphs. An algebra of full binomial type, in the sense of Doubilet-Rota-Stanley, is constructed which yields the generating functions which occur in the above context.
Folic acid promotion for Hispanic women in Florida: A vitamin diary study

Objective: To assess the barriers and benefits of taking multivitamins among Hispanic women exposed to a folic acid social marketing campaign in Florida, USA. Design and setting: Evaluation of non-pregnant women aged 18–35 from multiple Hispanic subgroups. Method: For 6 months, participants exposed to social marketing campaign educational materials were given a supply of vitamins and reported, on a daily basis, how often they took a multivitamin with folic acid and reasons why they may not have taken the multivitamin. Results: Forty-one women participated in the study and 65 per cent missed 10 days or less of taking the supplement. The most common reason for not taking the vitamin was forgetting. Conclusion: Compliance with multivitamin intake has numerous barriers. Therefore, continued educational efforts by public health practitioners are necessary in order to reach Hispanic/Latino populations known to have a high risk of neural tube defects.
Psychometric properties of the Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) in a Greek sample

Background The term Metacognition refers to the psychological processes that are involved in the way a person controls, modifies, and appraises his own thoughts [1]. Maladaptive metacognitions have been related to the development and maintenance of psychological disorder [2,3]. The Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) is a multidimensional instrument for assessing metacognitions, composed of five factors: cognitive confidence, positive beliefs about worry, cognitive self consciousness, negative beliefs about worry and need to control thoughts [4]. Psychometric properties of the MCQ-30 have been well documented [4] suggesting that it is a valid instrument that has already been used in clinical research with several psychiatric disorders.
Memory-configuration and memory-bandwidth in the sliding-window (SW) switch architecture

The key problem in a parallel system is how to distribute the work load to the components of the system in order to get optimal resource utilization, maximize throughput, and minimize response time. The sliding-window (SW) switch is a highly parallel architecture that uses an array of memory-modules to store and process data packets in high speed-networks and Internets. In this paper, we study two key aspects in the design of a high-speed router/switch using the SW switch architecture. The effect of the memory-configuration and the memory-bandwidth in the performance of the SW switch architecture is investigated under bursty-traffic conditions.
Relative-clock-based specification and test result analysis of distributed systems

A model employing totally ordered events of a distributed system based on a logical clock has been presented by L. Lamport (1978). The authors propose a new interpretation and extension of Lamport's notion of concurrency by introducing the concept of relative concurrency to capture the nature of concurrency of distributed systems by means of a relative (or logical) clock. They then derive a totally ordered global events model based on the relative clock. Based on this model, they represent and interpret timing (ordering) information from observable scenarios, including collision scenarios of the system, expressed in an extended trace assertion language (ETAL) specification. Finally, a new approach is illustrated with a realistic example for test result analysis including timing information based on the global events model. >
Hushang Golshiri and post‐Pahlavi concerns of the Iranian writer of fiction

Most Iranian writers view Pahlavi rule over Iran (1921-1979) as a period of secular dictatorship. Many writers during the Pahlavi era responded to what they perceived to be an atmosphere politically repressive and restrictive on their artistic and social activities through the production of a significant amount of fiction, essays, and poetry which may, on the whole, be described as a literature of protest.
AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF IMPORTANCE RATINGS OF MEAT ATTRIBUTES BY LOUISIANA AND TEXAS CONSUMERS

This study provides an empirical investigation of how consumers rate meat attributes. Results show an importance order for 12 selected meat attributes and reveal some relationships between the importance ratings and consumer’s demographic or socioeconomic characteristics. The findings suggest that (1) the meat marketing strategy should focus on freshness, taste, and appearance; (2) nutritional attributes have beeome important factors in the meat purchasing decision of female, educated, and married consumers; (3) older, married, low-income, or non-white consumers still remain price conscious; and (4) USDA label has become an important symbol of meat quality and safety to older, female, Baptist, and high-income consumers.
Staying hydrated: the molecular journey of gaseous sulfur dioxide to a water surface

A water surface is a dynamic and constantly evolving terrain producing a vast array of unique molecular properties and interactions with chemical species in the environment. The complex dynamics of water surfaces permit life on earth to continue, but also complicate the development of a complete microscopic picture of the specific behaviors that take place within interfacial aqueous environments. This computational study examines a piece of the water puzzle by elucidating the bonding, dynamic interactions, and hydrate structures of sulfur dioxide gas adsorbing to a water cluster. Results described herein address the specific ways in which sulfur dioxide gas molecules bind to a water cluster, and paint a more complete picture of the adsorption pathway than was previously developed from experimental and computational studies. Ab initio molecular dynamics have been employed to study sulfur dioxide and water interactions at two environmentally relevant temperatures on a water cluster. The results of this study on a common environmental and industrially important gas provide molecular insight to aid our understanding of interactions on aqueous surfaces, and gaseous adsorption processes.
A two-input sliding-mode controller for a planar arm actuated by four pneumatic muscle groups

Multiple-input sliding-mode techniques are applied to a planar arm actuated by four groups of pneumatic muscle (PM) actuators in opposing pair configuration. The control objective is end-effector tracking of a desired path in Cartesian space. The inputs to the system are commanded input pressure differentials for the two opposing PM groups. An existing model for the muscle is incorporated into the arm equations of motion to arrive at a two-input, two-output nonlinear model of the planar arm that is affine in the input and, therefore, suitable for sliding-mode techniques. Relationships between static input pressures are derived for suitable arm behavior in the absence of a control signal. Simulation studies are reported.
The Unmaking of Prejudice: How Christian Beliefs Relate to Attitudes Toward Homosexuals

We propose that the internalization of orthodox Christian beliefs serves as a basis for a personal moral standard that discourages prejudice against others as well as for self-critical emotions that follow upon behaving in a discriminatory manner. Two correlational studies tested hypotheses derived from our theory. Study 1 demonstrated that to the extent people endorse orthodox Christian beliefs, they report an internal motivation to respond without prejudice toward homosexuals. Study 2 demonstrated that, when controlling for the effects of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), endorsement of orthodox Christian beliefs was related to positive attitudes toward homosexuals as individuals or as a group, but not toward homosexuality as a behavior or lifestyle.
The WAMI toolkit for developing, deploying, and evaluating web-accessible multimodal interfaces

Many compelling multimodal prototypes have been developed which pair spoken input and output with a graphical user interface, yet it has often proved difficult to make them available to a large audience. This unfortunate reality limits the degree to which authentic user interactions with such systems can be collected and subsequently analyzed. We present the WAMI toolkit, which alleviates this difficulty by providing a framework for developing, deploying, and evaluating Web-Accessible Multimodal Interfaces in which users interact using speech, mouse, pen, and/or touch. The toolkit makes use of modern web-programming techniques, enabling the development of browser-based applications which rival the quality of traditional native interfaces, yet are available on a wide array of Internet-connected devices. We will showcase several sophisticated multimodal applications developed and deployed using the toolkit, which are available via desktop, laptop, and tablet PCs, as well as via several mobile devices. In addition, we will discuss resources provided by the toolkit for collecting, transcribing, and annotating usage data from multimodal user interactions.
Altruism, Turnout and Strategic Voting Behavior

We consider the problem of costly voting in a game-theoretic framework where agents are altruistic. We show that if, as usual, agents’types are assumed to be independently and identically distributed, the classical theorem of Thomas R. Palfrey and Howard Rosenthal (1985) on the impossibility of large-scale turnout essentially survives, despite the introduction of altruism. We solve this problem by introducing additional uncertainty about the fraction of altruistic agents who support a given candidate. It turns out that under suitable homogeneity assumptions, this modi…ed model is asymptotically equivalent to the rule utilitarian voter model of Timothy J. Feddersen and Alvaro Sandroni (2006, 2007), which is known to be consistent with large-scale turnout and strategic behavior. However, in contrast to rule utilitarian voter models, which typically require large-scale agreements among uncoordinated agents, our model is also compatible with several forms of heterogeneity in agents’characteristics. It is hoped that this paper will help to close the discrepancy between our understanding of costless or small elections, which is largely shaped by pivotal-voter models, and that of costly, large elections. (JEL D64, D72)
A new spreadsheet method for the analysis of bivariate flow cytometric data

A useful application of flow cytometry is the investigation of cell receptor-ligand interactions. However such analyses are often compromised due to problems interpreting changes in ligand binding where the receptor expression is not constant. Commonly, problems are encountered due to cell treatments resulting in altered receptor expression levels, or when cell lines expressing a transfected receptor with variable expression are being compared. To overcome this limitation we have developed a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that aims to automatically and effectively simplify flow cytometric data and perform statistical tests in order to provide a clearer graphical representation of results. To demonstrate the use and advantages of this new spreadsheet method we have investigated the binding of the transmembrane adhesion receptor CD44 to its ligand hyaluronan. In the first example, phorbol ester treatment of cells results in both increased CD44 expression and increased hyaluronan binding. By applying the spreadsheet method we effectively demonstrate that this increased ligand binding results from receptor activation. In the second example we have compared AKR1 cells transfected either with wild type CD44 (WT CD44) or a mutant with a truncated cytoplasmic domain (CD44-T). These two populations do not have equivalent receptor expression levels but by using the spreadsheet method hyaluronan binding could be compared without the need to generate single cell clones or FACS sorting the cells for matching CD44 expression. By this method it was demonstrated that hyaluronan binding requires a threshold expression of CD44 and that this threshold is higher for CD44-T. However, at high CD44-T expression, binding was equivalent to WT CD44 indicating that the cytoplasmic domain has a role in presenting the receptor at the cell surface in a form required for efficient hyaluronan binding rather than modulating receptor activity. Using the attached spreadsheets and instructions, a simple post-acquisition method for analysing bivariate flow cytometry data is provided. This method constitutes a straightforward improvement over the standard graphical output of flow cytometric data and has the significant advantage that ligand binding can be compared between cell populations irrespective of receptor expression levels.
Regulation of T cell receptor signaling by activation-induced zinc influx

Zinc is a trace element that is essential for innate and adaptive immune responses. In addition to being a structural element of many proteins, zinc also functions as a neurotransmitter and an intracellular messenger. Temporal or spatial changes in bioavailable zinc may influence the activity of several enzymes, including kinases and phosphatases. We provide evidence that zinc functions as an ionic signaling molecule after T cell activation. Cytoplasmic zinc concentrations increased within 1 min after T cell receptor (TCR) triggering, in particular in the subsynaptic compartment. The increase depended on the extracellular zinc concentrations and was inhibited by silencing zinc transporter Zip6. Increased zinc influx reduced the recruitment of SHP-1 to the TCR activation complex, augmented ZAP70 phosphorylation and sustained calcium influx. By calibrating TCR activation thresholds, increased extracellular zinc bioavailability facilitated the induction of T cell proliferative responses to suboptimal stimuli.
Theories of Body Scheme Development

This paper reviews the literature on theories of body scheme development. Contributions to development during different age periods and sequences of development of different aspects of body scheme are included. Implications for occupational and physical therapy evaluation and treatment are discussed.
Inflation Accounting and 20-F Disclosures: Evidence from Mexico

SYNOPSIS: This paper analyzes features of the Mexican accounting model and describes the effect of the accounting differences between Mexico and the U.S. on the relation between equity prices and accounting information reported in the two countries. The influence of U.S. accounting in Mexico is evident in several areas, partly due to the presence of numerous affiliates of U.S. multinational corporations, and also due to the prominence of local representatives of the Big 5 international accounting firms. Still, the Mexican accounting and reporting model addresses special issues—such as inflation accounting—in a manner different from that of the U.S. Using the population of Mexican firms listed on U.S. exchanges as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), we assess the relationship between Mexican ADR prices and Mexican vs. U.S. GAAP earnings and equity. We find that although Mexican ADR firms are not required to reconcile their inflation accounting to U.S. GAAP, ADR prices are significantly related to Mexican GAAP net income. However, we find no significant relation between the ADR price and net income and equity reconciliations from Mexican to U.S. GAAP. Our results call into question once again the validity and usefulness of the SEC’s required reconciliations to U.S. GAAP.
Quantitative SPECT brain imaging: effects of attenuation and detector responseat

Two factors which degrade quantitative accuracy in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of the brain are attenuation and detector response. Two reconstruction methods that compensate for attenuation and detector response (a filtered backprojection method with Metz filter and Chang attenuation compensation and a 3-D maximum-likelihood-EM method) are compared in terms of quantitative accuracy. The methods were tested on simulated data on the 3-D Hoffman brain phantom. The simulation incorporated attenuation and distance-dependent detector response. The root-mean-square (RMS) error was measured in the reconstructed images in the gray matter, white matter, and ventricle regions. The results in the white matter showed that the 3-D maximum-likelihood-expectation-maximization (ML-EM) method over a range of iteration stopping points had a smaller error than the filtered backprojection method over a similar range of power factors. In the gray matter the reverse was found, and this was attributed to an edge artifact in the 3-D ML-EM images. Reconstruction times for the 3-D ML-EM method were greatly reduced through efficient coding, limited source support, and computing attenuation factors only along rays perpendicular to the detector. >
Assessing summertime urban air conditioning consumption in a semiarid environment

Evaluation of built environment energy demand is necessary in light of global projections of urban expansion. Of particular concern are rapidly expanding urban areas in environments where consumption requirements for cooling are excessive. Here, we simulate urban air conditioning (AC) electric consumption for several extreme heat events during summertime over a semiarid metropolitan area with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled to a multilayer building energy scheme. Observed total load values obtained from an electric utility company were split into two parts, one linked to meteorology (i.e., AC consumption) which was compared to WRF simulations, and another to human behavior. WRF-simulated non-dimensional AC consumption profiles compared favorably to diurnal observations in terms of both amplitude and timing. The hourly ratio of AC to total electricity consumption accounted for ?53% of diurnally averaged total electric demand, ranging from ?35% during early morning to ?65% during evening hours. Our work highlights the importance of modeling AC electricity consumption and its role for the sustainable planning of future urban energy needs. Finally, the methodology presented in this article establishes a new energy consumption-modeling framework that can be applied to any urban environment where the use of AC systems is prevalent.
Molecular characterization of strains of fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Schwarzengrund carrying multidrug resistance isolated from imported foods

Methods: Antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella Schwarzengrund to 16 antibiotics was examined using disc agar diffusion and Etest. Quinolone resistance determinants were examined by sequence analysis of gyrA, gyrB, parC and parE, PCR amplification of qnrA, qnrB and qnrS, and expression of acrB, ramA, marA, soxS and rob using quantitative RT‐PCR. The contribution of efflux pump activities to antibiotic resistance was determined by the addition of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). The effect of ramR deletion on ciprofloxacin resistance was determined by complementing with wild-type ramR. Results: Salmonella strains 30 and 487 were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and had a single mutation in gyrA as compared with strain 75, which was highly resistant to ciprofloxacin and had a double mutation in gyrA. Increased expression of ramA was associated with high resistance to ciprofloxacin. Strain 75 had a deletion of 315 bp in the ramR gene, which regulates ramA expression. Overexpression of ramA was possibly related to a loss of ramR. Introduction of ramR decreased the MIC of ciprofloxacin from 48 to 24 mg/L. The addition of CCCP did not reduce antibiotic resistance. To our knowledge, this study reports for the first time the natural deletion of ramR in Salmonella Schwarzengrund. Conclusions: This study indicates that fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella are prevalent in imported food. Double mutations in gyrA and a loss of ramR were associated with high-level quinolone resistance in multidrug-resistant Salmonella Schwarzengrund strain 75.
Prism: a knowledge based system for semantic integrity specification and enforcement in database systems

This paper presents a knowledge-based approach to the specification, design, implementation, and evolution of database applications The knowledge base consists of 1) facts regarding database objects that are organized into a hierarchy of models, and 2) rules that specify the behavior of objects within a model and among modelsThe model hierarchy consists of database application data, database schemas, data model definitions, and system-related objects that control the user's interaction with the system The rules governing the behavior of objects are specified as explicit constraints on those objects User goals are transformed into conjectures that the inference engine must prove are satisfiable by interpreting all applicable constraintsThe semantic architecture of the PRISM system is described, together with the syntax and semantics of the constraint language PRISM is implemented in the C programming language and runs under the UNIX ** operating system
A location-based naming mechanism for securing sensor networks: Research Articles

Conventional sensor networks name every node with an identifier from a one dimension name space that has no meaning but identification function. However, it is much useful to let every node identifier carry more characteristics of the node itself. This paper introduces the naming problem for sensor networks in the literature for the first time, and proposes a location-based naming mechanism (LBN) for sensor networks, in which location information is embedded into node identifier and acts as an inherent node characteristic to provide authentication service in local access control. When LBN is enforced, the impacts of many attacks to sensor network topology can be limited in a small area. A link layer authentication (LLA) scheme is also proposed to further decrease the impacts of those attacks. Our LBN and LLA can be combined and act as an efficient solution against a wide range of attacks in sensor networks. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stock Market Regulation in the Pacific Basin: Lessons from U.S. Experience

This paper surveys some of the prevalent theories of stock market regulation (market failure and public choice.) The validity of generalizing U.S. regulatory experience to the markets of other nations depends on which, if any, of these popular theories holds. No convincing evidence exists to support market failure. Hence, the scientific basis for generalizing U.S. experience to other markets is limited. The negative lesson is that imitation of U.S. regulation does not necessarily improve the general welfare. Observed regulation depends on interest groups. Not only is there no ideal model to follow, but no such ideal exists. The paper reviews important phenomena that any positive theory of regulation is confronted with. It provides detailed criticisms of the SEC and reviews Benston's strong critique of mandatory disclosure.
Endogenous fluorescence monitoring in vivo as an assay for cellular damage in photodynamic therapy

The endogenous fluorescence signal attributed to NADH is decreased in response to photodynamic damage to cells and tissues [1]. This is being developed as a dosimetry tool to provide a direct measure of in vivo dose deposition.
Abstract 5004: CpG island methylator phenotype in bladder cancer

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL DNA hypermethylation is a common epigenetic abnormality in cancer, and some cancers are characterized by the presence of intense hypermethylation at multiple loci, termed CpG island methylation phenotype (CIMP). CIMP has not been fully characterized in bladder cancer. In a pilot study, we examined the methylation status of 38 loci in a panel of 26 bladder cancer and identified 14 genes whose methylation was concordant, supporting the presence of CIMP. In an expanded series of 108 cancers, we found that a distinct subset displays concerted hypermethylation at a large number of genes, confirming the existence of CIMP in bladder cancer. Unsupervised hierarchical K-means clustering identified three distinct DNA methylation groups of bladder cancers, CIMP-N (negative), CIMP-L (low), and CIMP-H (high) representing 39%, 33% and 28% of cancer overall. Compared to CIMP-N cases, CIMP-H cases were more frequently current smokers (p<0.05), had more H-RAS and K-RAS mutation (15% vs. 0 %, P< 0.05), had less FGFR3 mutations (8% vs. 32 %, P<0.05) and more RB1 loss (35% vs. 10%, P<0.05). Genome wide analysis of 85 bladder cancers by MCAM (methylated CpG island amplification microarray) showed an average of 12.4 % of genes hypermethylated in CIMP-H, 6.5 % in CIMP-L and 4.4 % in CIMP-N (CIMP-N vs. CIMP-L, p=0.0006 and CIMP-L vs. CIMP-H, p<0.0001). Affected genes were enriched for PcG targets, and gene ontology analysis showed clustering at Homeobox and voltage-gated cation channel based on gene expression of CIMP targets. Our study suggests that CIMP is an important molecular variable in bladder cancer heterogeneity. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5004. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5004
Ratio attribute in the tau-p domain for reliable detection of 4D signature

Summary Capturing small variations in subsurface rock properties in time-lapse seismology (4D) is a challenging task. The magnitude of non-repeatable or 4D noise can be at the same level or higher than the physical changes in the reservoir, hindering 4D analysis of time varying properties such as pressure, saturation and temperature. We introduce a ratio method which mitigates 4D noise caused by near-surface conditions and helps recover the true reservoir response over time. The method is based on amplitude ratios of events above and at the reservoir in the delay timeslowness (tau-p) domain where angle-dependent reflection/transmission coefficients for each layer are fundamentally functions of ray-parameter. The ratio attribute is then used as a direct 4D indicator with minimal overburden effects. The method is applied to numerical models to show that an expected 5% change in the 4D signal is successfully recovered even in the presence of 25% 4D noise. Real data application shows that for survey data with no expected 4D signal, but significant near surface changes, the ratio attribute can greatly reduce the
"My Mom says my Axomia is bhanga " (My Mom says my Assamese is broken) Talking about Assamese as a heritage language

This study investigates the status of Assamese as a heritage language among second generation Assamese Americans in the United States. Specifically, it reports on the value of the heritage language for this population, their self-perceptions as Assamese as a heritage language speakers, and their extent of use of the language. Guided by the three-pronged framework of language maintenance and revitalization addressing capacity development, opportunity creation, and desire, the article evaluates the responses for the current status of the use of Assamese as a heritage language and the potential for it sustenance among this population. The responses suggest that although the desire is present to maintain the heritage language, community efforts to build capacity and create opportunities for the second generation are insufficient to align all three components. Consequently, the prospects of maintaining and sustaining Assamese as a heritage language in the US may not be very bright.
A simple method for preparing template of Plasmodium for PCR

Objective:To explore a simple,rapid and efficient method for preparing template of Plasmodium for polymerase chain reaction(PCR).Methods:Dried blood spot samples of malaria patients from Africa and Southeast Asia who were diagnosed as positive by microscopy were collected on filter paper from 2010 to 2011.Two methods for preparing template of Plasmodium,direct hemolysis method by distilled water and Chelex-100 method,were used respectively for nested PCR to detect ss RNA gene of Plasmodium and compared with each other.Results:Thirty-two templates of Plasmodium with twenty-six of P.falciparum and six of P.vivax were prepared by both methods.Nested PCR with template prepared by direct hemolysis method showed all the samples produced specific amplification bands.But no bands were detected by nested PCR with templates prepared by Chelex-100 method.Conclusion:Direct hemolysis method was perfect to prepare templates of Plasmodium for nested PCR.
Channel Estimation Algorithm Based on FFT with Multiple Pilot Patterns in OFDM System

In this paper, two FFT-based channel estimation methods for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) are proposed, including time-domain interpolation and transform-domain interpolation. Time-domain interpolation is based on FFT sampling theorem in frequency domain. The estimation of transfer function in the whole frequency domain is obtained by the limited sample values through IFFT/FFT without aliasing. Transform-domain interpolation is based on FFT sampling theorem in time domain, and the signal and noise are separated by FFT/IFFT taking advantage of the signal's characteristics and the channel's features of OFDM. On this basis, this paper presents improved window algorithm for minishing the spectral leakage during interpolation and improving the estimation effect. Analysis and simulation results indicate that the windowing method based on FFT transform-domain estimation is of good performance.