cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Heterologous transplantation of activated murine peritoneal macrophages inhibits gamete interaction in vivo: a paradigm for endometriosis-associated subfertility.

Macrophage hyperactivation has been postulated to be the pathologic aberration in patients suffering from endometriosis-associated subfertility. In this report an in vivo model for macrophage-mediated infertility is described. Populations of macrophages were obtained from an inbred strain of mice (Balb/C) as follows: (1) in vivo hyperactivated macrophages (harvested from donor mice treated with intraperitoneal thioglycolate); (2) hyperactivated macrophages deactivated ex vivo with the protein synthesis inhibitor emetine; and (3) basal state (nonactivated) macrophages obtained from untreated mice. Recipient mice underwent ovarian hyperstimulation with pregnant mare serum gonadotropins; 2×10 6 macrophages were transferred on the afternoon of stimulation day 3 before injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and mating. Unfertilized oocytes and 4-cell embryos were counted on day hCG +2 as a reflection of reproductive performance. Heterologous transfer of in vivo hyperactivated macrophages, but not basal state macrophages, significantly inhibited fertilization. This effect was largely reversed by pretreatment with emetine. These experiments confirm the relevance of macrophage-mediated interference with early reproductive performance and provide a model for the development of alternative therapies (e.g., immunomodulation of the peritoneal fluid environment) for endometriosis-associated subfertility.
The Potential of Poetic Possibility

This poetic, autobiographic performance piece frames the intersection of the personal and the political for a scholar-practitioner, one who is a life-longer learner and voracious reader. The utilization and examination of critical pedagogy/ies through poetic aesthetics animates the author’s teaching, research, and pursuit of personal transformation.
Theobromine Upregulates Osteogenesis by Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells In Vitro and Accelerates Bone Development in Rats

Theobromine (THB) is one of the major xanthine-like alkaloids found in cacao plant and a variety of other foodstuffs such as tea leaves, guarana and cola nuts. Historically, THB and its derivatives have been utilized to treat cardiac and circulatory disorders, drug-induced nephrotoxicity, proteinuria and as an immune-modulator. Our previous work demonstrated that THB has the capacity to improve the formation of hydroxyl-apatite during tooth development, suggesting that it may also enhance skeletal development. With its excellent safety profile and resistance to pharmacokinetic elimination, we reasoned that it might be an excellent natural osteoanabolic supplement during pregnancy, lactation and early postnatal growth. To determine whether THB had an effect on human osteoprogenitors, we subjected primary human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) to osteogenic assays after exposure to THB in vitro and observed that THB exposure increased the rate of osteogenesis and mineralization by hMSCs. Moreover, THB exposure resulted in a list of upregulated mRNA transcripts that best matched an osteogenic tissue expression signature as compared to other tissue expression signatures archived in several databases. To determine whether oral administration of THB resulted in improved skeletal growth, we provided pregnant rats with chow supplemented with THB during pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, offspring received THB continuously until postnatal day 50 (approximately 10 mg kg−1 day−1). Administration of THB resulted in neonates with larger bones, and 50-day-old offspring accumulated greater body mass, longer and thicker femora and superior tibial trabecular parameters. The accelerated growth did not adversely affect the strength and resilience of the bones. These results indicate that THB increases the osteogenic potential of bone marrow osteoprogenitors, and dietary supplementation of a safe dose of THB to expectant mothers and during the postnatal period could accelerate skeletal development in their offspring.
Impact of Factor IXa Content On Function, Safety and Efficacy of Recombinant Factor IX Products.

Abstract Abstract 2233 Baxter has developed a new recombinant factor IX (rFIX) product (BAX 326) for treating patients with hemophilia B. The aim of the presented studies was to evaluate the function, safety and efficacy of BAX 326 compared to a commercially available rFIX regarding differences in activated FIX (FIXa) content. The FIXa concentration of BAX 326 was about 10 fold less than that of a commercial rFIX product. To address the influence of FIXa on functional FIX in vitro assays, the FIXa concentration of BAX 326 was increased. Samples were analyzed by one-stage clotting assay, non-activated partial thromboplastin time assay and thrombin generation assay. In all three assays, FIXa affected the potency determination for FIX, indicating that rFIX products should preferentially contain a low FIXa content. The thrombogenic potential of BAX 326 was assessed in rabbits using a modified Wessler Test at 750 IU/kg (10-fold human clinical dose). No thrombogenic potential was observed with BAX 326 (individual scores of 0), whereas the mean score for the commercially available rFIX was 0.5. After increasing the FIXa concentration of BAX 326 to equalize it with the commercially available rFIX, a mean score of 0.42 (individual scores 0 – 0.5) was determined. These data strongly suggest that the differences in preclinical thrombogenicity were caused by the higher FIXa content of the commercially available rFIX, thereby confirming earlier findings [1]. Efficacy of the rFIX products was studied in hemophilia B (FIX ko) mice that received prophylactic treatment with 75 IU/kg of BAX 326 or the commercially available rFIX. Treated animals were analyzed in two primary pharmacodynamic models: a carotid occlusion model and one using thrombelastography. In both models, results for the two groups were similar, demonstrating that despite its lower FIXa content, BAX 326 was as efficacious as a commercially available rFIX at 75 IU/kg (p Disclosures: Auer: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment. Rottensteiner: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment. Schrenk: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment. Hoellriegl: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment. Schiviz: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment. Scheiflinger: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment. Schwarz: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment. Turecek: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment. Muchitsch: Baxter Innovations GmbH: Employment.
Programmable Deployment of Tensegrity Structures by Stimulus-Responsive Polymers

Tensegrity structures with detached struts are naturally suitable for deployable applications, both in terrestrial and outer-space structures, as well as morphing devices. Composed of discontinuous struts and continuous cables, such systems are only structurally stable when self-stress is induced; otherwise, they lose the original geometrical configuration (while keeping the topology) and thus can be tightly packed. We exploit this feature by using stimulus responsive polymers to introduce a paradigm for creating actively deployable 3D structures with complex shapes. The shape-change of 3D printed smart materials adds an active dimension to the configurational space of some structural components. Then we achieve dramatic global volume expansion by amplifying component-wise deformations to global configurational change via the inherent deployability of tensegrity. Through modular design, we can generate active tensegrities that are relatively stiff yet resilient with various complexities. Such unique properties enable structural systems that can achieve gigantic shape change, making them ideal as a platform for super light-weight structures, shape-changing soft robots, morphing antenna and RF devices, and biomedical devices.
Semiparametric Kernel-Based Regression for Evaluating Interaction Between Pathway Effect and Covariate

Pathway-based analysis has the ability to detect subtle changes in response variables that could be missed when using gene-based analysis. Since genes interact with other covariates such as environmental or clinical variables, so do pathways, which are sets of genes that serve particular cellular or physiological functions. However, since pathways are sets of genes and since environmental or clinical variables do not have parametric relationships with response variables, it is difficult to model unknown interaction terms between high-dimensional variables and low-dimensional variables as environmental or clinical variables. In this paper, we propose a semiparametric interaction model for two unknown functions to evaluate the interaction between a pathway and environmental or clinical variable: for the pathway, we use an unknown high-dimensional function, and for environmental or clinical variable, we use an unknown low-dimensional function. We model the environmental or clinical variable nonparametrically via a natural cubic spline. We model both the pathway effect and the interaction between the pathway and environmental or clinical effect nonparametrically via a kernel machine. Since both interactions among genes within the same pathway and the interaction between the pathway and the environmental or clinical variables are complex, we allow for the possibility that a pathway is interacting with environmental or clinical variables and the genes within the same pathway are interacting with each other. We illustrate our approach using simulated data and genetic pathway data for type II diabetes. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online.
Immediate Stress Echocardiography for Low-Risk Chest Pain Patients in the Emergency Department: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Abstract Background Evaluation and disposition of low-risk chest pain (CP) patients in the emergency department (ED) is time consuming and expensive. Low-risk CP often results in hospital admission to rule out myocardial infarction, which leads to additional costs and delays. Objective Our aim was to assess whether an immediate exercise stress echocardiogram (IESE) in the ED will allow safe, efficient, and cost-effective evaluation and discharge of patients with low-risk CP. Methods Low-risk CP patients (TIMI [Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction] score 0–1) presenting to the ED with normal electrocardiogram, no history of coronary artery disease, and negative troponin T received IESE. We followed these patients for major adverse cardiac events and compared them to a control cohort of similar-risk patients admitted with traditional care at 1 and 6 months. Results We enrolled 216 patients, 117 IESE and 109 control. We obtained follow-up at 1 and 6 months in 94% of the IESE group and 88% in the control group. There was no difference in diagnostic catheterization or percutaneous coronary intervention between the 2 groups (6.0% and 1.7% vs. 6.4% and 1.8%; p = 0.89). Median time from triage to discharge was significantly shorter with IESE (572.6 min vs. 1466.0 min), resulting in significantly lower cost ($4380.50 vs. $6191.70). There were no adverse events related to IESE or early discharge. Conclusions In our study, IESE for low-risk CP patients presenting to the ED has the potential to be equally safe, more expeditious, and more cost effective than admission to an observation unit.
Natural Killer Cells at Ease: Atherosclerosis Is Not Affected by Genetic Depletion or Hyperactivation of Natural Killer Cells.

Atherosclerosis is a lipid-driven, chronic inflammatory disorder that is characterized by the formation of leukocyte-rich plaques in large- and medium-sized arteries. Plaque macrophages form lipid-laden foam cells and eventually fail to clear the overwhelming number of apoptotic cells (failure of efferocytosis), forming a necrotic core. Other immune cells like T- and B-cell subsets contribute to atheroprogression by controlling the inflammatory milieu. The subject of the present work1 concerns the role of natural killer (NK) cells in atherosclerosis progression. Article, see p 47 NK cells are found at an average of 1 to 2 cells per lesion section.1 NK cells are potent immune cells protecting the host from viral infections and tumor formation. If a host cell lacks surface MHC-I (major histocompatibility complex I), being in a state of missing self, NK cells will kill this cell. NK cells also display immune-regulatory features and are capable of influencing antigen-specific T-cell responses. In the course of cardiovascular disease, the number of NK cells decreases in patients with stable angina or non–ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction without affecting their cytokine expression profile.2 Until now,1 the role of NK cells in atherosclerosis had remained unclear and controversial. In this issue of Circulation Research , Nour-Eldine et al1 show that NK cells are not involved in atherosclerosis. A first study investigating NK cell activity in atherosclerosis assessed beige mice. Beige mice carry a mutation of the Lyst gene impairing NK …
The rise of three-dimensional human brain cultures

Pluripotent stem cells show a remarkable ability to self-organize and differentiate in vitro in three-dimensional aggregates, known as organoids or organ spheroids, and to recapitulate aspects of human brain development and function. Region-specific 3D brain cultures can be derived from any individual and assembled to model complex cell-cell interactions and to generate circuits in human brain assembloids. Here I discuss how this approach can be used to understand unique features of the human brain and to gain insights into neuropsychiatric disorders. In addition, I consider the challenges faced by researchers in further improving and developing methods to probe and manipulate patient-derived 3D brain cultures.
Watertight Dural Closure in Pediatric Craniotomies-Is It Really Necessary?

Background Dural closure after intracranial procedures is considered crucial to reduce postoperative complications such as pseudomeningocele (PM), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks, hydrocephalus, and infections. However, watertight dural closure (WTDC) is often difficult to achieve, and dural substitutes often are used. We describe our experience with non-WTDC in children. Methods Data were collected retrospectively. Redo and craniectomy cases were excluded. Collected data included demographics, surgical etiology, various radiologic parameters, ventricular opening, usage of drains and shunts, dural closure technique, and complications. Results In total, 163 cases aged 3 months to 18.5 years (90 ± 56 months) were included. Main surgical indications were tumors (120, 74%) and epilepsy (29, 18%). In total, 122 (74%) cases were supratentorial. The ventricular system was opened in 69 (42%) cases. In 145 (89%) cases, a non-WTDC was performed. Fibrin glue was used in 22 (13%) cases. In 156 cases (96%), a dural substitute was used. One patient (0.6%) had a CSF leak. At 3 months, 20% had a radiologic PM but only 8.4% were noticed clinically. At 1 year, 7.7% had a radiologic PM but only 3% were noticed clinically. Overall, 3% needed a PM tap, and 15 patients (9%) underwent CSF diversion procedures. There were no infections. The only factor significantly associated with PM or a need for CSF surgery was an infratentorial location. Conclusions Non-WTDC after cranial surgery in children was associated with a low rate of clinically significant PM, infections, leaks, and hydrocephalus. Non-WTDC is fast and reduces the need to harvest additional tissue, thus minimizing the surgical incision.
Patterns of co-membership: Techniques for identifying subgraph composition

Abstract Different social processes give rise to network structures with distinctive properties. In this paper our goal is to identify the social processes that give rise to distinct network structures (specifically, subgroups). We examine particular structural meta-relations by identifying the properties of individuals associated with specific subgroups. Clues to the process of group formation and the context in which these groups form and persist may be extracted from the properties of individuals in those groups. Following this intuition, we propose a general technique for identifying systematic patterns of attribute occupancy to determine how individual attributes may drive group formation. To connect the social context in which groups form to their structural signatures, we relate subgroup composition to nodal attributes. We illustrate the utility of comparing subgroup (e.g., clique, n-clique, k-core, etc.) co-membership with nodal co-membership in a variety of attributes. The correlations between these two co-membership matrices illustrate clearly the strength of association between shared attributes and shared subgraph membership. Furthermore, examining these correlations across groups of different sizes indicates where these attributes are most strongly associated with group co-membership. Additionally, these correlations fit well into a QAP framework to determine where shared subgraph membership has a stronger (or weaker) relation to shared attribute membership than we would expect by chance. We demonstrate the technique with a series of large, online friendship networks on the order of thousands of nodes to illustrate how factors such as gender, cohort, residence, and other attributes are associated with co-membership across a range of clique sizes.
Passive elastography monitoring of a high intensity ultrasound treatment: A study of feasibility in in vitro liver

High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a non-invasive modality of intervention allowing thermal ablation in soft tissues by locally increasing temperature. Thermal lesions can be observed as a change in tissue elasticity properties, and so in shear wave velocity, by elastography. Most of studies based on ultrasound imaging used shear waves created by acoustic radiation force. Some of these studies presented elasticity measurements during a treatment in tissues like livers. They demonstrated that the elasticity increases during the treatment and so that the lesion becomes progressively harder than the original tissue. Acoustic radiation force method still presents some difficulties to obtain elasticity in deep tissues. However, in the human body, a natural noise due to cardiac activity or arterial pulsatility can be used to characterize the elasticity in using noise correlation techniques, it corresponds to passive elastography. This method depends on the imaging technique and so can image deep tissues. The objective is so to study the feasibility of using passive elastography technique during a treatment. Here, experiments are performed in in vitro porcine and bovine livers, heated with an acoustic transducer till 80°C and imaged with a high framerate ultrasound imaging device.High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a non-invasive modality of intervention allowing thermal ablation in soft tissues by locally increasing temperature. Thermal lesions can be observed as a change in tissue elasticity properties, and so in shear wave velocity, by elastography. Most of studies based on ultrasound imaging used shear waves created by acoustic radiation force. Some of these studies presented elasticity measurements during a treatment in tissues like livers. They demonstrated that the elasticity increases during the treatment and so that the lesion becomes progressively harder than the original tissue. Acoustic radiation force method still presents some difficulties to obtain elasticity in deep tissues. However, in the human body, a natural noise due to cardiac activity or arterial pulsatility can be used to characterize the elasticity in using noise correlation techniques, it corresponds to passive elastography. This method depends on the imaging technique and so can image deep tissue...
Fishing for Power: Incursions of the Ugandan Authoritarian State

A few months before Uganda’s 2016 presidential elections, the government issued an executive order dissolving community-based Beach Management Units, the local and democratic governance bodies resp...
Seeking sustainability: Employing Ostrom's SESF to explore spatial fit in Maine’s sea urchin fishery

Achieving resource sustainability in complex social-ecological systems requires employing place-based management mechanisms congruent with the underlying temporal, spatial, and functional dynamics of the system in question. However, matching management to system dynamics can prove extremely challenging, as has been illustrated in Maine’s sea urchin fishery where fishery managers have struggled to resolve management spatial scale mismatch for over two decades. In Maine, the spatial scale of management far exceeds the relevant spatial dynamics of the urchin resource and leaves fine-scale urchin aggregations in a de facto open access state. These conditions facilitated the serial overharvest of urchin aggregations and resulted in the substantial loss of viable urchin habitat as overharvested areas transitioned to kelp-dominated ecosystem states that inhibit urchin recruitment. Although fishery actors contemplated adopting a number of fine-scale management alternatives to enhance social-ecological fit in the fishery, to date, no such alternatives have been employed. We adopted an ethnographic research approach and conducted semi-structured key informant interviews, document analysis of archived meeting minutes, and participant observation at co-management meetings and restoration events to explore these dynamics from the fishery’s incipience to the present. Following data analysis, we employed Ostrom’s social-ecological systems framework as a diagnostic tool to identify the factors that have influenced management spatial fit in the urchin fishery. Research findings suggest that a number of interacting variables, including harvesters’ heterogeneity and conflicting mental models of the SES, low levels of trust and social capital, and changes in the resource system following collapse impeded collective action necessary to support fine-scale management. However, changing leadership characteristics and increasing horizontal collaboration between harvesters and scientists have positively influenced governance outcomes in recent years and provide a window of opportunity to transition towards a more adaptive and collaborative governance arrangement conducive to addressing problems of fit in the urchin fishery.
Quantitative assessment of the efficacy of two different treatment plan optimization algorithms in treating tumors in locations of high heterogeneity

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the differences in treatment optimization algorithms in two leading treatment planning systems, Pinnacle v9.8 (Philips Healthcare, Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Raystation 8A (Raysearch Americas Inc., Garden City, USA). The aim is to compare and contrast between planning systems in terms of sparing of vital organs (SVO) using several gradient and conformity indices, as well as vital organ dose limits. The study includes patients (N = 18) presenting with lung (10), liver (4), and head and neck (4) tumors and treated with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planned using the same objectives and weights, number of iterations, beam angles, and planning target volume (PTV) coverage. Both plans were analyzed for Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) conformity index, Paddick conformity index, gradient index (GI), dose gradient index, and sparing of vital organs. This study utilized both segmented and dynamic approaches to multileaf collimation (SMLC and DMLC, respectively) in the Raystation planning system in lung IMRT plans, as some plans could not be optimized in Raystation with SMLC (7). It was determined that in lung plans, Pinnacle demonstrated better sparing of the right lung and the spinal cord, but Raystation more effectively spared the heart and esophagus. In liver plans, Raystation demonstrated a superior GI, indicating faster dose falloff; this correlated with lower volumes of the liver receiving 24 Gy. In head and neck (H&N) plans, Pinnacle demonstrated superior sparing of the parotid but inferior GI, indicating more rapid dose falloff in Raystation beyond the PTV. The analysis for the lung, liver, and H&N cases indicated that both planning systems are equivocal for the majority of parameters measured, with a few differentiating trends. In H&N plans, Pinnacle showed improved parotid sparing but inferior performance in calculated GI values. Liver plans showed superiority of Raystation in GI computations, but the most notable differences were in the lung plans where Pinnacle spared the spinal cord significantly more in contrast to Raystation’s performance but also delivered significantly more dose to the esophagus.
Immunotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia: from allogeneic stem cell transplant to novel therapeutics

Immunotherapy in the form of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) plays an instrumental role in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with non-transplant modalities of immunotherapy including checkpoint blockade now being actively explored. Here, we provide an overview of the graft versus leukemia (GVL) effect in AML as a window into understanding the prospects of AML immunotherapy. We explore the roles of various cell types in orchestrating anti-leukemic immunity, as well as those contributing to the unique immune suppressive state of myeloid diseases. We discuss specific approaches to engage the immune system, while noting the challenges of the AML antigen landscape and the barriers to immune modulation. We review the potential for immunomodulatory agents in combination with cellular therapies, donor lymphocyte infusion, and following SCT. Finally, to address the challenge of minimal residual disease (MRD) following chemotherapy, we propose combination epigenetic and immunotherapy for the eradication of MRD.
Building Smart Water Communities: Technology and Institutions Toward Better Water

This chapter focuses on water service in small communities in India and demonstrates how a combination of technological and institutional aspects can bring reliable service for a better quality of living that can be sustained in the long term. Based on analysis of field research, literature review, and interviews of professionals, researchers, and policymakers, this chapter argues that creative solutions can be developed to make improvements over key, urgent problems of basic water service. The unit of analysis is a community formed by a cluster of households that may be situated in urban, peri-urban or rural or remote areas. Through a study of specific mechanisms in such diverse communities in the states of Karnataka and Telangana, the chapter makes two arguments: one, how technology and institutional mechanisms can make for “smart water”; and two, how such mechanisms can help build “smart water communities”. The chapter describes what “smart water” and “smart water communities” mean and offers insights into building such communities through innovative ways of diversifying water resources and forming effective institutions toward better quality of life.
Investigation of the Role of Rare-Earth Elements in Spin-Hall Topological Hall Effect in Pt/Ferrimagnetic-Garnet Bilayers.

Topological magnetic textures such as skyrmions are being extensively studied for their potential application in spintronic devices. Recently, low-damping ferrimagnetic insulators (FMI) such as Tm3...
Damage Classification of Composites Based on Analysis of Lamb Wave Signals Using Machine Learning

AbstractComposite materials have a myriad of applications in complex engineering systems, and multiple structural health monitoring (SHM) strategies have been developed. However, these methods are ...
Li Zehou: Synthesizing Kongzi, Marx, and Kant

Li Zehou is widely regarded as one of China’s most influential contemporary thinkers, and was particularly prominent during China’s period of reform and intellectual awakening during the 1980s. Li adopts a syncretic and comparative approach to Confucian and Western thought, and developed an account of a Chinese modernity that integrates three distinct philosophical influences. These are Chinese history and culture, which Li understands as largely Confucian; Marxism, particularly its historicist and materialist conceptions of social life and the mind; and Western thought more generally, as represented by figures such as Immanuel Kant and the discipline of aesthetics. Li’s theoretical framework describes the integration or harmonization of the human subject with wider cultural and environmental contexts, in a manner consistent with the traditional Confucian ideal of the unity of humanity and the cosmos. The chapter assesses whether Li offers a robust and coherent account of a modernity, in which individual freedom is balanced with the social nature of human thought and practice.
It’s Okay to Change Your Mind: You Do Not Need to Vote the Same Way Twice:

Voters make their decisions based on several factors; however, cognitive dissonance and ego-involvement are two forces that work to keep voters’ choices consistent over time. Despite these internal...
The spectrum of tensor perturbations in warm inflation

We compute the spectrum of tensor perturbations in warm inflation. We find that the spectrum, besides the standard component $\propto {H^2}/{M_P^2}$ associated to the amplification of the tensor vacuum fluctuations, acquires a component $\propto {\ell_{\rm mfp}\,T^5}/{M_P^4}$, where $\ell_{\rm mfp}$ and $T$ are respectively the mean free path and the temperature of the thermal degrees of freedom. The new contribution is due to the direct production of gravitational waves by the thermal bath, and can exceed the standard one in a viable region of parameter space. This contribution is dominated by thermal fluctuations at scales longer than $\ell_{\rm mfp}$.
Effects of 29Si and 1H on the near-zero field magnetoresistance response of Si/SiO2 interface states: Implications for oxide tunneling currents

We report on a study that offers fundamental physical insight into an important phenomenon in solid state device physics, tunneling in Si/SiO2. We observe near-zero field magnetoresistance via spin-dependent trap-assisted-tunneling in both unpassivated and passivated Si/SiO2 and 28Si/28SiO2 metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) capacitors. A previous report, which utilized electrically detected magnetic resonance and NZFMR on these devices, indicates a surprising conclusion: the observed trap-assisted tunneling spectra are dominated by silicon dangling bonds back bonded to silicon at the Si/SiO2 interface, Pb0 and Pb1 centers. In this study, the four sets of samples are virtually identical, apart from the presence or absence of either 1H and 29Si. We observed a substantial narrowing of the NZFMR response with the removal of 29Si nuclei and a substantial broadening with the addition of 1H. Since superhyperfine interactions between 29Si nuclei Pb at the Si/SiO2 interface are a full order of magnitude stronger than such interactions involving silicon dangling bonds defects (E′ centers) within the oxide, the NZFMR results strongly suggest a response dominated by Si/SiO2 interface trap defects. With the introduction of 1H magnetic nuclei to the interface after a forming gas anneal, linewidths and lines shapes of Si/SiO2 and 28Si/28SiO2 MIS capacitors were nearly identical. However, the amplitude of the NZFMR response is greatly reduced by the introduction of hydrogen by a fraction about equal to the reduction in the interface trap density. Our results further indicate that the rate limiting step in trap-assisted tunneling is the interface to oxide trapping event.
Chapter 12. Methods for the Assessment of Nonhistone Phosphorylation (Acid-Stable, Alkali-Labile Linkages)

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the detection of phosphate groups attached to serine and threonine residues in nonhistone chromosomal proteins. Future studies on phosphorylated nonhistone proteins will require the development of methods for fractionation of these proteins under conditions where they retain their biological functions. Although SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is useful for overcoming the tendency of nonhistone phosphoproteins to aggregate, the resulting fractionated proteins can be denatured and are of little further use. Several attempts have been made in laboratories to remove the SDS from nuclear phosphoproteins, but none of the methods are found to be suitably effective. Further development of techniques to examine this phosphorylation, especially in suitably purified phosphoproteins, is needed.
Protection by natural and semisynthetic gangliosides from Ca2(+)-dependent neurotoxicity caused by excitatory amino acid (EAA) neurotransmitters.

Neuronal death is a frequent occurrence during nervous system ontogenesis and continues, though at a slower rate, throughout life. EAA neurotransmitters, when added (in appropriate concentrations) to primary neuronal cultures, are the only neurotransmitters known to cause neuronal death by destabilizing homeostasis of free Ca2+ (Olney, 1969; Coyle, 1987; Vaccarino et al., 1987; Favaron et al., 1988; Connor et al., 1988). In neurons, EAA increase Ca2+ influx through specific cationic channel activation, thereby stimulating Ca2+-dependent enzymes, including protein kinase C (PKC) (Wroblewski and Danysz, 1989). Presumably, these actions of EAAs can be mediated at NMDA-, kainate- or quisqualate-sensitive synaptic receptors (Wroblewski and Danysz, 1989). Normally, intraneuronal Ca2+ homeostasis is maintained by the equilibration of free Ca2+, with Ca2+ compartmentalized in endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria and the operation of channels and pumps allowing Ca2+ influx (cationic channels) and efflux (Nat-Ca2+ exchanger and ATPase-operated Ca2+ pumps) (Carafoli, 1987). It is, therefore, not surprising that many have attempted to evaluate whether EAA receptors are also operative in physiologically programmed neuronal death. In central nervous system, an alteration of EAA transmission may occur in a variety of acute (stroke, ischemia, and CNS traumas) or chronic (autoimmune responses, Huntington’s chorea, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), olivopontocerebellar atrophy, lathyrism, and the Guamanian complex) neuropathological processes (Rothman, 1984; Kostic et al., 1989; Spencer et al., 1987; Plaitakis et al., 1988).
Time-dependent calculations of electron and photon emission from an atom in an intense laser field

A numerical method for solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for a one-electron atomic system in an intense, short-pulsed laser field is presented. An effective potential formalism is proposed and tested for representing the excitation of the valence electrons in rare gases. Results for ion production yields, photoelectron distributions and harmonic conversion are presented and compared to recent experimental results.
How to Concentrate Copper

Porphyry copper deposits, which supply nearly 60% of the world9s copper, form as upper-crustal magmas crystallize and exsolve metal-bearing hydrothermal ore fluids. However, few upper-crustal magmas produce economic copper concentrations. In her perspective Cline discusses work by Harris et al. that examined silicate melt and fluid inclusions from the Bajo de la Alumbrera deposit, in Argentina and revealed processes that may be critical to forming economic, rather than barren, porphyry systems.
A potential smoothing algorithm accurately predicts transmembrane helix packing

Potential smoothing, a deterministic analog of stochastic simulated annealing, is a powerful paradigm for the solution of conformational search problems that require extensive sampling, and should be a useful tool in computational approaches to structure prediction and refinement. A novel potential smoothing and search (PSS) algorithm has been developed and applied to predict the packing of transmembrane helices. The highlight of this method is the efficient manner in which it circumvents the combinatorial explosion associated with the large number of minima on multidimensional potential energy surfaces in order to converge to the global energy minimum. Here we show how our potential smoothing and search method succeeds in finding the global minimum energy structure for the glycophorin A (GpA) transmembrane helix dimer by optimizing interhelical van der Waals interactions over rigid and semi-rigid helices. Structures obtained from our ab initio predictions are in close agreement with recent experimental data.
Polyethylene glycol-stimulated microsomal GTP hydrolysis: Relationship to GTP-mediated Ca2+ release

Abstract It has recently been observed that GTP mediates Ca2+ release from internal Ca2+ stores. In contrast to effects on permeabilized cells, GTP-dependent Ca2+ release in isolated microsomes requires the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG). We have investigated the effects of PEG on microsomal GTPase activity and report that PEG stimulates a high-affinity (Km = 0.9 μM) GTPase. The effects of PEG reflect an increase in the Vmax of this activity; no effects on Km were observed. The concentration dependence for PEG-dependent stimulation of the high-affinity GTPase exactly mimicked that for GTP-dependent Ca2+ release. The stimulation of GTP hydrolysis by PEG was specific for the microsome fraction; only small effects were obtained with plasma membrane or cytosol fractions. As observed for GTP-dependent Ca2+ release, the microsomal PEG-stimulated GTPase was competitively inhibited by the GTP analog GTPγS (Ki = 60 nM). It is proposed that the PEG-stimulated GTPase may represent an intrinsic activity of the guanine nucleotide binding protein involved in the regulation of reticular Ca2+fluxes.
Health Interventions, Community-based

This article describes the optimum mix of education, organization, and regulation needed for success in community-based programs for changing health habits underlying preventable chronic disease. Historically, success occurred only when social cognitive theory's principles were embedded within a social marketing framework. A paradigm shift toward greater effects and broader global dissemination could occur were digital health methods incorporated into the current model, particularly if supportive regulatory public health policy were also present.
On the use of hybrid multivariable models for predicting human response to anesthesia

The standard modeling paradigm used to describe the relationship between input anesthetic agents and output patient endpoint variables are single-input single-output pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic compartment models. We investigate the use of hybrid multivariable models to describe the relations between inputs that include anesthesia, surgical stimuli and disturbances to a variety of patient output variables. Data-based modeling methods are employed. Simulated and measured responses are compared.
A multi-proxy reconstruction of environmental change spanning the last 37,000 years from Burial Lake, Arctic Alaska

Abstract Sediment cores from Burial Lake located in the western Brooks Range in Arctic Alaska record paleoenvironmental changes that span the last 37,000 calendar years before present (cal yr BP). We identified four distinct lithologic subunits based on physical properties (dry bulk density, magnetic susceptibility), sediment composition, and geochemical proxies (organic matter, biogenic silica, C/N, organic matter δ13C and δ15N, and elemental data from scanning X-ray fluorescence). The multi-proxy approach and relatively high temporal resolution (at multi-decadal to centennial time scales) of our proxy analysis, compared with previous studies of intermediate water depth cores from Burial Lake, provide new insights into the paleoenvironmental history of the region spanning the period prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. Relatively high lake-levels and gradually decreasing in-lake and terrestrial productivity occur during the mid-Wisconsin interstadial from 37,200 to 29,600 cal yr BP. The subsequent period is defined by falling and lower lake-levels with decreasing effective-moisture, windier conditions, and sustained low aquatic productivity throughout the LGM between 29,600 and 19,600 cal yr BP. The last deglaciation that commenced by 19,600 cal yr BP is characterized by gradual changes in several sediment physical and geochemical proxies, including increasing C/N ratios and terrestrial productivity, decreasing magnetic susceptibility and clastic sediment flux, along with rising and relatively higher lake-levels. A decrease in aeolian activity after 16,500 cal yr BP is inferred from the appearance of fine (very fine sandy silt) sediment, compared to coarse sediments through the LGM and last deglaciation. The highest levels of terrestrial inputs along with increasing and variable aquatic productivity occur during the Lateglacial to early Holocene interval between 16,500 and 8800 cal yr BP. The absence of multi-proxy evidence for a strong climatic reversal during the Younger Dryas from Burial Lake sediments contrasts with some paleorecords showing cooler temperatures and/or dry conditions in northern Alaska at this time. Peak levels of sediment organic content and terrestrial productivity at Burial Lake between 10,500 and 9900 cal yr BP coincide with the early Holocene summer insolation maxima, which likely represents summertime warming and an enhanced flux of watershed derived organic matter from permafrost degradation. The remainder of the Holocene (since 8800 cal yr BP) at Burial Lake is characterized by relatively high and stable lake levels, landscape stabilization, and relatively high and variable levels of aquatic productivity.
The Validity of Administrative BMI Data in Total Joint Arthroplasty

Abstract Identifying BMI via administrative data is a useful way to evaluate outcomes in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) for varying degrees of obesity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concordance between BMI coding in administrative claims data and actual clinical BMI measurements in the medical record for patients undergoing TJA. Clinical BMI value was shown to be a significant determinant of whether ICD-9 codes were used to report the patient's obesity status ( P
Perceiving hierarchy through intrinsic color structure

Color is an intrinsic visual attribute of form that functions as language and message. The purpose of this study was to investigate objectively structured color combinations as a means to communica...
Dimension in algebraic frames

In an algebraic frame L the dimension, dim(L), is defined, as in classical ideal theory, to be the maximum of the lengths n of chains of primes p 0 < p 1 < ... < p n , if such a maximum exists, and ∞ otherwise. A notion of “dominance” is then defined among the compact elements of L, which affords one a primefree way to compute dimension. Various subordinate dimensions are considered on a number of frame quotients of L, including the frames dL and zL of d-elements and z-elements, respectively. The more concrete illustrations regarding the frame convex l-subgroups of a lattice-ordered group and its various natural frame quotients occupy the second half of this exposition. For example, it is shown that if A is a commutative semiprime f-ring with finite l-dimension then A must be hyperarchimedean. The d-dimension of an l-group is invariant under formation of direct products, whereas l-dimension is not. r-dimension of a commutative semiprime f-ring is either 0 or infinite, but this fails if nilpotent elements are present. sp-dimension coincides with classical Krull dimension in commutative semiprime f-rings with bounded inversion.
Preadmission Student Advising: A Prototype Computerized System.

One domain that is appropriate for expert system usage is student advising. For instance, students in universities can receive advising and counseling regarding financial aid, selection of majors, and course planning. This paper discusses the development of a prototypical computerized system designed to provide advice to high school students or college freshmen who are uncertain about the desirability of attending a university or undectded about a potential major. The on-demand consultation gathers information about a student's grades, interests, test scores, and aptitudes. It assesses student qualifications for admission and evaluate student's qualifications for a variety of majors. It then recommends curricula the student should consider and recommends appropriate courses for the student's first year.
Tibial defects with nonunion treated by transference of the fibula and tibiofibular fusion

Abstract The use of the fibula for purposes of stabilization in the same leg was found to be indicated in patients with tibial nonunion and associated wide defects and long-standing infections. Two modified operative procedures, employing tibiofibular fusion without osteotomy, were used in six cases. A total of fifteen cases and the results in each are presented in which some type of fibular stabilization was performed with known good results in thirteen cases (86.7 per cent).
Smooth macro-elements on Powell-Sabin-12 splits

Macro-elements of smoothness C r are constructed on Powell-Sabin-12 splits of a triangle for all r ≥ 0. These new elements complement those recently constructed on Powell-Sabin-6 splits and can be used to construct convenient superspline spaces with stable local bases and full approximation power that can be applied to the solution of boundary-value problems and for interpolation of Hermite data.
Effect of cations on copper adsorption by kaolin

Varying amounts of CaCl2 or MgCl2 were first equilibrated with a dilute suspension of H+-kaolin and then with spiked (high activity radioactive 64Cu) water. After filtration, through 0.45 μm Millipore membrane the amount of radioactivity on the filter and the filtrate was measured separately using a Gamma ray well counter. Adsorption of Cu (expressed as distribution coefficient −K d ) was plotted against Ca or Mg concentration. K d values decreased sharply at Ca or Mg concentration from 0 to 10 mg l−1 and changed only slightly from 10 to 200 mg l−1. Increase in the concentration of Ca or Mg reduces the Cu binding capacity of the clay.
The first measurement of an absolute surface concentration of reaction intermediates in ethylene hydrogenation

The first measurement of a turnover rate with respect to surface intermediate concentration in a high pressure heterogeneous catalytic reaction is reported. By using infrared-visible sum frequency generation to study the hydrogenation of ethylene on Pt(111), it was found that the surface concentration of π-bonded ethylene, the key reaction intermediate, represented approximately 4% of a monolayer. Thus the absolute turnover rate per surface adsorbed ethylene molecule is 25 times faster than the rate measured per platinum atom. To explain these results, we propose a model of weakly adsorbed ethylene intermediates reacting on atop sites.
Studies on 1-carbadethiacephems, part II: Reaction of 4-acetoxy-2-azetidinone with aluminium enolates

Abstract A procedure for the novel reaction of αβ-unsaturated ketones (as zinc-free aluminium enolates) with 4-acetoxy-2-azetidinone, giving products 2 , is reported. A 1-carbadethia-2-oxocephem derivative 5 has been prepared from compound 2b .