cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
OCTOR: Subset selection in recursive pattern hierarchies

We present an approach for encoding and specifying selections in recursive pattern hierarchies. Hierarchies of patterns of features or other modeling entities are used in architectural and mechanical CAD to eliminate laborious repetitions from the design process. Yet, often a subset of the repeated occurrences in the model must be edited. Specifying a desired selection is often tedious and difficult. Our approach addresses these two drawbacks simultaneously, offering an effective and intuitive solution which requires only two mouse-clicks to specify any one of a wide range of selections, including selections in recursive hierarchies. The selection has a concise representation that is simple to compute.
Bubble Column Reactors for Wastewater Treatment. 3. Pilot-Scale Solvent Sublation of Pyrene and Pentachlorophenol from Simulated Wastewater

Removal efficiencies from a three-phase continuous, countercurrent solvent sublation of pyrene and pentachlorophenol from water are presented and compare well with Series CSTR Model predictions. The effects of the air-to-water flow ratio, the solvent flow rate, and the gas sparger design are discussed. Steady-state efficiencies as high as 96% for pyrene and 94% for pentachlorophenol are reported for an annular shear gas sparger. These results demonstrate the superiority of solvent sublation over bubble fractionation which is shown to be limited to a removal efficiency of 68% or less for these compounds. Moreover, analyses of the solvent (mineral oil) phase show that the separation factor (ratio of the solvent effluent concentration to the water effluent concentration) in solvent sublation can be as high as 300, which is distinctly greater than that observed in solvent extraction.
A Predictive Mathematical Model of Muscle Forces for Children with Cerebral Palsy.

AIM The purpose of this study was to determine if our previously developed muscle model could be used to predict forces of the quadriceps femoris and triceps surae muscles of children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (CP). METHOD Twenty-two children with CP (12 males, 10 females; mean age 10y, SD 2y, range 7-13y; Gross Motor Function Classification System levels II and III) participated. A physiologically based mathematical model with four free parameters is presented. RESULTS For individuals with CP, the model predicted well the force profile throughout each contraction and both peak force and force-time integral responses to a wide range of stimulation frequencies (5-100Hz) and different stimulation patterns (constant-, variable-, and doublet-frequency trains) both for nonfatigued and fatigued muscles. INTERPRETATION The significance of this work is the insight the model can provide into the physiology of muscle in CP. Additionally, the model can potentially be applied clinically to design optimal electrical stimulation patterns for interventions to address impairments in strength and function in individuals with CP, such as functional electrical stimulation-assisted cycling.
THE RESULTS OF REPLACEMENT THERAPY IN AN HYPOPHYSECTOMIZED PUPPY: FOUR MONTHS OF TREATMENT WITH DAILY PITUITARY HETEROTRANSPLANTS*

Recent experimental studies on rats, cats and dogs have shown conclusively that the hypophysis is not essential to life in these animals, and although its removal is accompanied by remarkable physical changes resulting primarily from retarded development, and that although their span of life after hypophysectomy may be shorter than that of the control, it is of sufficient length to indicate that the removal of the pituitary has not resulted in death. Aschner (1) in 1912 published striking photographs of hypophysectomized puppies of various ages which had remnined infantile in appearance and size until sacrificed. Using the buccal approach, his hypophysectomies were performed as early as the eighth week of life and the animals lived for months. The intracranial approach devised by Dandy and Reichert (2) has made possible a successful and complete hypophysectomy in puppies as early as the third week of life. This procedure is facilitated by the preoperative intravenous injection of a hypertonic solution of ...
A framework for analyzing the collaborative construction of arguments and its interplay with agency

In this report, we offer a framework for analyzing the ways in which collaboration influences learners' building of mathematical arguments and thus promotes mathematical understanding. Building on a previous model used to analyze discursive practices of students engaged in mathematical problem solving, we introduce three types of collaboration and discuss their influence on the building of mathematical arguments and student agency. The framework is exemplified using data from a study of the development of mathematical reasoning in an urban sixth-grade informal after-school program.
Rail accelerator research at Lewis Research Center

A rail accelerator was chosen for study as an electromagnetic space propulsion device because of its simplicity and existing technology base. The results of a mission feasibility study using a large rail accelerator for direct launch of ton-size payloads from the Earth's surface to space, and the results of initial tests with a small, laboratory rail accelerator are presented. The laboratory rail accelerator has a bore of 3 by 3 mm and has accelerated 60 mg projectiles to velocities of 300 to 1000 m/s. Rail materials of Cu, W, and Mo were tested for efficiency and erosion rate.
The Cost–Utility of Screening for Depression in Primary Care

Annual and periodic screening for depression in primary care cost more than $50 000/quality-adjusted life-year, but one-time screening is cost-effective. The cost-effectiveness of screening is like...
Water Dynamics of Dairy Cattle as Affected by Initiation of Lactation and Feed Intake

Effects of lactation and feed intake on sizes and half-lives of body water pools were investigated in four Holstein cows in a thermoneutral environment. Various markers were administered, on average, 24 days prepartum (Period 1, feed intake fixed to average of consumption after offered at a rate ensuring 10% refusal), 24 days postpartum (Period 2, restricted to intake in Period 1), and 42 days postpartum (Period 3, feed again offered at a rate ensuring 10% refusal). Total body water decreased from period 1 to 2; however, it did not change as a percent of body weight. Estimated body water half-lives and fluxes for the three periods were 7.5, 3.7, and 2.9 days; and 42, 66, and 87 liters/day. Increased water intake during lactation closely matched water secreted in milk. Empty body water, estimated by a two-compartment, four-parameter model, as a percent of body weight did not change across periods. Lactation and increased feed intake decreased half-life of body water. Plasma volume increased as a percent of body weight because of loss of body weight in early lactation; however, extracellular volume tended to decrease with body weight. Initiation of lactation and feed intake during lactation affect water dynamics of the dairy cow.
Extrapolation of serial stimulus patterns by rats

This experiment determined if rats could extrapolate a familiar serial sequence of diminishing food quantities by accurately anticipating a novel quantity added to the end of the sequence. In 13 days of training, rats ran in a straight runway to obtain quantities of food pellets presented in sequential order. A strongly monotonic group received repetitions of a formally simple pattern of 14-7-3-1 pellets of food, while weakly monotonic and nonmonotonic groups received formally more complex 14-5-5-1 and 14-3-7-1 patterns, respectively. In subsequent transfer, a 0-pellet quantity was added to each pattern, thus extending pattern length to five elements. Results of the very first pattern repetition containing the added 0-pellet element indicated that rats in the strongly monotonic condition, but not in the others, anticipated the reduced quantity before actually experiencing it. This result supports a cognitive, rule-learning hypothesis for serial learning by rats.
Molecular comparison of VP3 from bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses.

Abstract The complete nucleic acid sequence of gene 3 from epizootic hemorrhagic disease of deer (EHD) virus serotype l was determined. The 2768 bp sequence encodes a single protein that contains 899 amino acids and has a molecular weight of 103 kDa. The predicted protein sequence has 94.7% identity with EHD virus serotype 2 and > 77% identity with the related bluetongue viruses serotypes 1, 10 and 17 VP3 proteins. The relevance of these data to studies of recombinant DNA diagnostics and genetic relatedness is discussed.
Community Effects on Political Attitudes: Partisanship and Efficacy*

A MAJOR trend in the study of political behavior in America has been the increased utilization of national probability samples, rather than samples drawn from a more limited geographical area. Early voting studies, particularly those carried out by the Bureau of Applied Social Research, focused on political behavior in the context of specific counties or cities (Lazarsfeld et al., 1948; Berelson et al., 1954). More recent research, however, has focused on parameters of the national electorate, and on explanations of political choice that are not contingent upon locality factors (Campbell and Kahn, 1952; Campbell et al., 1954; Campbell et al., 1960, 1966). One result of this trend has been a decrease in the amount of attention paid to the interpersonal dynamics involved in the partisanship decision. Thus, an important and well documented source of variation, conformity to the attitudes of those with whom one associates, has been systematically disregarded (cf. Verba, 1961). Berelson et al. (1954) have suggested that when the primary groups to which one belongs do not provide unambiguous specification of the party one is expected to support, the dominant political climate in the community will attract the individual. Thus, the analysis of voting in a Republican town, Elmira, New York, in the 1948 election revealed that "the Republicans get more than their random share of the adjustment to a conflicting environment because of the pervasive Republican atmosphere of Elmira that thus tends to perpetuate itself." The underlying dynamic, which appears only implicitly in the Berelson et al. work, is that when an individual does not receive political cues from
Proximity of a Lower Third Molar to the Inferior Alveolar Canal as a Predictor of Delayed Recovery

Purpose This study was designed to test the hypothesis that removal of lower third molars below the occlusal plane and in close proximity to the inferior alveolar canal (IAC) delays recovery after surgery as compared with lower third molars below the occlusal plane yet not close to the IAC. Patients and Methods Recovery data were available for 579 patients enrolled in an institutional review board–approved clinical trial. After surgery a questionnaire designed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) recovery was given to the patient to be completed each day for 14 days. At each postsurgery visit, clinical data were collected detailing healing and treatment. Based on radiographic findings, patients with at least 1 mandibular third molar below the occlusal plane were identified. Outcomes for patients with at least 1 radiographic sign indicating proximity of a lower third molar to the IAC were compared with those with none. Clinical and HRQOL outcomes were compared with Cochran-Mantel-Haensel statistics (P Results No significant differences were found between groups for delayed clinical recovery. If radiographic signs for a patient at presurgery evaluation indicated close proximity of a lower third molar to the IAC, odds were significantly increased for delayed HRQOL recovery for worst pain, lifestyle, and oral function. Conclusion Our findings support the hypothesis that a presurgery finding of a lower third molar below the occlusal plane and in close proximity to the IAC is associated with patients’ prolonged HRQOL recovery, but not a significant delay in clinical recovery.
Determination of deoxycorticosterone and aldosterone in biological samples by gas chromatography with electron capture detection.

Abstract Gas chromatography with electron capture detection was used for quantitation of deoxycorticosterone and aldosterone from biological samples. Purification of samples prior to final quantitation on the gas chromatograph was done by paper chromatography, derivative formation, and then thin-layer chromatography. The derivatives used which were sensitive to electron capture detection were deoxycorticosterone acetae and aldosterone γ-lactone. As little as 0.02 μg of either deoxycorticosterone or aldosterone in the original sample could be quantitated. The methods were applied to simulated samples, rabbit adrenal venous blood. and adrenal incubates. Specific activities of deoxycorticosterone and aldosterone from adrenals incubated with progesterone-4-C 11 were obtainable with the methods developed.
Facilitating Collaboration and Research in Sex and Gender Differences and Women's Health: Year One Experiences

Librarians at the University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries partnered with faculty to promote awareness of and access to research on women's health and sex and gender resources in an outreach project funded by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women's Health. The project featured elements that facilitated cross-disciplinary collaboration (using CoLAB Planning Series®, or CoLABs), instruction to various groups (including faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, and professional students), collection development, and information dissemination. Librarians leveraged existing partnerships with faculty and built new ones. Success in this project demonstrates that libraries can partner effectively with their faculty on emerging trends and new initiatives.
Nanoripple formation on TiO 2 (110) by low-energy grazing incidence ion sputtering

110 surface has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. Ripple formation is a con-sequence of preferential sputtering of monatomic step edges with a directional component perpendicular to theion-beam azimuth. The combination of preferential erosion of step edges and ion-beam-induced surface rough-ening results in a surface morphology with nanoripples aligned parallel to the ion-beam azimuth. We investi-gate the surface-structure evolution as a function of ion ﬂuence for two ion-beam azimuth directions. Analysisof the formation and evolution of sputter-induced vacancy islands shows that under the conditions employedhere 0.8 keV Ar ions, 8° grazing incidence angle the sputter probability at step edges is signiﬁcantlyenhanced compared to sputtering at ﬂat terraces. Although the initial vacancy island morphology can bestrongly inﬂuenced by the step-edge formation energies for different crystallographic orientations, both inves-tigated azimuth directions form similar ripple structures at high ion ﬂuences. This study demonstrates thatgrazing incidence ion beams can be employed to pattern oxide substrates with quasiperiodic nanoripples withripple spacing of tens of nanometer.DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.82.035408 PACS number s : 79.20.Rf, 68.47.Gh, 68.37.Ef
Thin-film grating polarizer

The deexcitation of guided modes in a thin-film planar dielectric waveguide is considered. On the film–cover interface is etched an ordinary diffraction grating whose wave number is such that one radiation beam in the substrate alone is generated. For a specified radiation direction the p-polarized radiation vanishes selectively. This phenomenon is used in the development of a polarizer whose output is predominantly in the p polarization. The sensitivity of the performance of the polarizer to small deviations in the design parameters is also investigated.
Superconducting transition in thin films of lead telluride doped with thallium.

Superconductivity has been found in 0.5-..mu..m-thick films of PbTe doped with Tl which were grown on BaF/sub 2/ substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy. The observation that in the T = 0 limit the ratio of the parallel to perpendicular critical magnetic fields is 1.7 suggests that the superconductivity is a bulk property. The highest value of the critical temperature was 0.6 K, which is about a factor of 2 lower than previously reported values for bulk material and polycrystalline films grown on mica substrates.
Cognitive Flexibility, Approaches to Learning, and Academic School Readiness in Head Start Preschool Children

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine whether approaches to learning significantly mediated relations between cognitive flexibility (a component of executive functions) and school readiness in Head Start preschoolers. A total of 191 children from 22 Head Start classrooms were directly assessed on cognitive flexibility and school readiness. In addition, teachers rated children's approaches to learning in 3 domains (competence motivation, attention/persistence, and attitude toward learning) using the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (P. A. McDermott, L. F. Green, J. M. Francis, & D. H. Stott, 2000). Results of multilevel mediation analyses revealed that 1 component of approaches to learning—attention/persistence—significantly mediated the relation between cognitive flexibility and school readiness. These results suggest that part of the effect of cognitive flexibility on school readiness may be related to cognitive flexibility supporting children's approaches to learning. Practice or...
Competencies and opportunities for entry level golf and club management careers: perceptions from the industry.

Abstract Employee recruitment in the golf and club management industry is a significant and challenging issue. This study examined the expected competencies and career opportunities for entry level management positions. Evidence revealed a broad spectrum of competencies, including food and beverage, leadership and strategic management, and financial accounting. Recruitment strategies to reduce vacancies and attract qualified applicants were generated, including credentialing, internships, and opportunities for current employees in the hospitality industry.
Randomized Trial of Hypnosis as a Pain and Symptom Management Strategy in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common genetic disease in African-Americans, characterized by recurrent painful vaso-occlusive crises. Medical therapies for controlling or preventing crises are limited because of efficacy and/or toxicity. This is a randomized, controlled, single-crossover protocol of hypnosis for managing pain in SCD patients. Participants receive hypnosis from a trained hypnosis therapist followed by six weeks of self-hypnosis using digital media. Those in the control arm receive SCD education followed by a six-week waiting period before crossing over to the hypnosis arm of the study. Outcome measures include assessments of pain (frequency, intensity and quality), anxiety, coping strategies, sleep, depression, and health care utilization. To date, there are no published randomized, controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of hypnosis on SCD pain modulation in adults. Self-hypnosis for pain management may be helpful in modulating chronic pain, improving sleep quality, and decreasing use of narcotics in patients with SCD. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00393250
Distributive justice: Theory and research

The concept of distributive justice and the theoretical and empirical work conducted on it during the past two decades are examined. Three questions provide the structure for this examination: (i) What are fundamental conceptual dimensions of distributive justice and the specific substantive issues to which they are related? (ii) What central questions has recent work on distributive justice addressed? and (iii) What are the most important emerging issues on which work in the near-term future should focus? Much of the theory and research examined in the paper is social psychological in nature, but reference is made to related work in related disciplines, particularly sociology and philosophy.
A National, Randomized Survey of HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Attitudes Among Psychiatrists in Training

Given the broad spectrum of medical and psychiatric complications associated with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) disease, HIV-related education is an important curriculum topic for all physicians. This study examined the HIV-related knowledge and attitudes among psychiatrists in training to evaluate their training needs. A survey instrument was developed containing 15 knowledge items, 15 attitude items, demographic items, and questions concerning how HIV/AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) affected residency choice and self-perception of training needs. The questionnaire was mailed to 2,252 psychiatrists in training randomly selected and stratified by American Psychiatric Association district and postgraduate training year. The sample consisted of 825 respondents representing 37% of the initial pool. Knowledge was most lacking in areas dealing with HIV-related neuropsychiatric complications and issues concerning HIV/AIDS and special populations. In general, the respondents expressed positive attitudes about HIV-related issues; however, three items correctly endorsed by fewer than 75% of the sample dealt specifically with the management of neuropsychiatric complications, working with dying patients, and the range of normal sexuality. Targeted HIV-related education is needed for psychiatrists in training and particularly should encompass neuropsychiatric syndromes and issues of special populations.
Spending without results: lessons from the space station program

Abstract The US spent all of the funds originally estimated for the initial development of its orbital space station without producing any significant amount of flight hardware. This article shows how a project with large design costs and significant “non-prime” outlays can quickly deplete program funds. The authors recount the way in which budgetary politics, congressional micro-management, and technological risk conspired to produce this result.
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for the environmental determination of total carbon and nitrogen in soils.

Soils from various sites have been analyzed with the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique for total elemental determination of carbon and nitrogen. Results from LIBS have been correlated to a standard laboratory-based technique (sample combustion), and strong linear correlations were obtained for determination of carbon concentrations. The LIBS technique was used on soils before and after acid washing, and the technique appears to be useful for the determination of both organic and inorganic soil carbon. The LIBS technique has the potential to be packaged into a field-deployable instrument.
Dilation aware multi-image enrollment for iris biometrics

Current iris biometric systems enroll a person based on the best eye image taken at the time of acquisition. However, recent research has shown that simply taking the best eye image and ignoring pupil dilation leads to degradations in system performance. In particular, the probability of a false non-match increases when there is a considerable variation in pupil size between the enrolled eye image and the probe eye image. Therefore, methods of enrollment that take into account pupil dilation are needed to ensure reliability of an iris biometric system. Our research examines a strategy to improve system performance by implementing a dilation-aware enrollment phase that chooses eye images based on their respective empirical dilation ratio distribution. We compare our strategy of enrollment to that of the randomly chosen eye images, which is the current enrollment procedure for most iris biometric systems. Our results show that there is a noticeable improvement over the random scenario when pupil dilation is accounted for during the enrollment phase.
Building better tools: Experimental UAV research at West Virginia University

The purpose of this paper is to share experiences acquired by researchers at West Virginia University in developing and flight testing customized small fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The design for two families of research UAVs, the YF-22 and the Phastball, are discussed. Applications of these research vehicles, including formation flight control, sensor fusion, aircraft parameter identification, differential thrust and thrust vectoring, aviation safety research, and remote sensing, are briefly reviewed.
Magnetic particle motions within living cells. Measurement of cytoplasmic viscosity and motile activity

Submicrometer magnetic particles, ingested by cells and monitored via the magnetic fields they generate, provide an alternative to optical microscopy for probing movement and viscosity of living cytoplasm, and can be used for cells both in vitro and in vivo. We present methods for preparing lung macrophages tagged with magnetic particles for magnetometric study. Interpretation of the data involves fitting experimental remanent-field decay curves to nonlinear mechanistic models of intracellular particle motion. The model parameters are sensitive to mobility and apparent cytoplasmic viscosity experienced by particle-containing organelles. We present results of parameter estimation for intracellular particle behavior both within control cells and after (a) variable magnetization duration, (b) incubation with cytochalasin D, and (c) particle twisting by external fields. Magnetometric analysis showed cytoplasmic elasticity, dose-dependent motion inhibition by cytochalasin D, and a shear-thinning apparent viscosity.
Multiple-choice tests stabilize access to marginal knowledge

Marginal knowledge refers to knowledge that is stored in memory, but is not accessible at a given moment. For example, one might struggle to remember who wrote The Call of the Wild, even if that knowledge is stored in memory. Knowing how best to stabilize access to marginal knowledge is important, given that new learning often requires accessing and building on prior knowledge. While even a single oppor- tunity to restudy marginal knowledge boosts its later accessi- bility (Berger, Hall, & Bahrick, 1999), in many situations explicit relearning opportunities are not available. Our ques- tion is whether multiple-choice tests (which by definition expose the learner to the correct answers) can also serve this function and, if so, how testing compares to restudying given that tests can be particularly powerful learning devices (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). In four experiments, we found that multiple-choice testing had the power to stabilize access to marginal knowledge, and to do so for at least up to a week. Importantly, such tests did not need to be paired with feed- back, although testing was no more powerful than studying. Overall,the results support the idea that one's knowledge base is unstable, with individual pieces of information coming in and out of reach. The present findings have implications for a key educational challenge: ensuring that students have con- tinuing access to information they have learned.
Pope Benedict XVI Confronts Religious Relativism

Pope Benedict XVI’s inflammatory speech at Regensburg highlights a subtle difference between Benedict and John Paul II. John Paul called Muslims and Jews “sons of Abraham,” and he organized high-profile interfaith events. Benedict is more skeptical of interreligious dialog and more confrontational toward Islam than was his predecessor. This shift in tone toward Islam stems from changed historical circumstances. Islam has replaced communism as Europe’s biggest ideological challenge. But, there are also subtle theological differences between the two Popes. John Paul was trained by Dominicans, and throughout his papacy, he was a champion of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Augustine, with his bleaker view of non-Christian cultures, is the dominant influence on Benedict. Benedict believes that theologies of religious pluralism, which lead to metaphysical and religious relativism, have replaced liberation theologies as the most serious threats to Catholic orthodoxy.
Localization of antimicrobial peptides in normal and burned skin

Severe burn causes immunosuppression, and the eschar remains a perfect culture medium for microbial growth. The resulting sepsis is a common complication of burns with a high mortality. The skin produces a number of molecules including antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that act in the first line of host defense. Previous studies from our laboratory suggested decreased expression of human β-defensin-2 (HBD-2) in burned wounds. Here, we have expanded our work by identifying HBD-1, HBD-2, HBD-3 and human neutrophil peptide (HNP) in normal and burn skin samples using fluorescence deconvolution microscopy. In normal skin, HBD-1 was localized to the perinuclear region of keratinocytes, while HBD-2 was seen primarily in the stratum basale of the epidermis. HBD-3 was found in dendritic cells of the stratum spinosum. HNP was distributed in a somewhat random pattern in the papillary dermis. In burned skin, in which the epidermis had been destroyed or disrupted, the presence of HBD-1 was localized to dermal glandular structures and hair shafts. HBD-2 was found in both the upper portions of the remaining keratin layers, and localized to lower, f-actin containing, acini-like structures, a pattern also evident with HBD-3. We conclude that although the upper layers of skin are destroyed and disrupted by burn, cells in the lower portions of the skin demonstrate an ability to synthesize most of the AMPs, thereby maintaining some barrier against infection. The results of these studies further contribute to an understanding of the role of AMPs in the pathophysiology of cutaneous burn and the possibility of using these sites for upregulation of AMP synthesis in the prevention of burn sepsis.
Settling Accounts: Violence, Justice, and Accountability in Postsocialist Europe

Settling Accounts: Violence, Justice, and Accountability in Postsocialist Europe. John Borneman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997. 197 pp.
Early Childhood Special Educators and the Hospital Ethics Committee.

WITH THE advent of PL 99‐457, in the United States, early childhood special educators may be expected to observe and/or serve on Hospital Ethics Committees in order to assist families better who have seriously ill and handicapped infants in the neonatal intensive care units. To fulfil provisions of the new legislation, the educator needs to be aware of some of the issues that could be considered by the Committees. These issues could include alternative viewpoints on infant euthanasia and the right to life, the provisions of current child abuse legislation, and possible effects on families. This article discusses these concerns and suggests some guidelines which may assist in the training of early childhood special educators for such responsibilities.
Netrins Promote Developmental and Therapeutic Angiogenesis

Axonal guidance and vascular patterning share several guidance cues, including proteins in the netrin family. We demonstrate that netrins stimulate proliferation, migration, and tube formation of human endothelial cells in vitro and that this stimulation is independent of known netrin receptors. Suppression of netrin1a messenger RNA in zebrafish inhibits vascular sprouting, implying a proangiogenic role for netrins during vertebrate development. We also show that netrins accelerate neovascularization in an in vivo model of ischemia and that they reverse neuropathy and vasculopathy in a diabetic murine model. We propose that the attractive vascular and neural guidance functions of netrins offer a unique therapeutic potential.
Granulation tissue regression induced by musculocutaneous advancement flap coverage

Abstract Background. Clinical experience suggests that granulation tissue may be inhibited by coverage with a musculocutaneous flap. We hypothesized that coverage of an open wound with a musculocutaneous flap would result in regression and apoptosis of the wound's granulation tissue. Methods. In the first experiment, 32 rats underwent excisional wounding; 16 underwent musculocutaneous flap coverage of their granulation tissue on postwounding day 8, and then 16 rats (8 controls + 8 flaps) were killed on both postwounding days 10 and 12 (2 and 4 days after the flap procedure, respectively). In the second experiment, 18 rats were wounded, and on postwounding day 5 the rats underwent flap coverage (n = 6), wound edge release/mobilization (the first step of the flap procedure) without flap coverage (n = 6), or dressing change only (n = 6); all rats were killed on postwounding day 6 (24 hours after the secondary intervention). Apoptosis was quantified with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick-end labeling assay. Results. Placement of a musculocutaneous flap over an 8-day-old excisional wound in the first experiment increased the apoptotic rate in the granulation tissue from 0% to 1% (controls) to 5% to 10% at both 2 and 4 days after flap coverage (P
Lewis X-Containing Neoglycoproteins Mimic the Intrinsic Ability of Zona Pellucida Glycoprotein ZP3 to Induce the Acrosome Reaction in Capacitated Mouse Sperm

The binding of zona pellucida (ZP) glycoprotein ZP3 to mouse sperm surface receptors is mediated by protein-carbohydrate interactions. Subsequently, ZP3 induces sperm to undergo the acrosome reaction, an obligatory step in fertilization. We have previously identified Lewis X (Le(x); Gal beta 4[Fuc alpha 3]GlcNAc) as a potent inhibitor of in vitro sperm-ZP binding (Johnston et al. J Biol Chem 1998; 273:1888-1895). This glycan is recognized by approximately 70% of the ZP3 binding sites on capacitated, acrosome-intact mouse sperm, whereas Lewis A (Le(a); Gal beta 3[Fuc alpha 4]GlcNAc) is recognized by most of the remaining sites (Kerr et al. Biol Reprod 2004; 71:770-777). Herein, we test the hypothesis that Le(x)- and Le(a)-containing glycans, when clustered on a neoglycoprotein, bind ZP3 receptors on sperm and induce sperm to undergo the acrosome reaction via the same signaling pathways as ZP3. Results show that a Le(x)-containing neoglycoprotein induced the acrosome reaction in a dose-dependent and capacitation-dependent manner. A Le(a)-containing neoglycoprotein also induced sperm to undergo the acrosome reaction but was less potent than Le(x)-containing neoglycoproteins. In contrast, neoglycoproteins containing beta4-lactosamine (Gal beta 4GlcNAc), Lewis B (Fuc alpha 2Gal beta 3[Fuc alpha 4]GlcNAc), and sialyl-Le(x) glycans were inactive, as were four other neoglycoproteins with different nonfucosylated glycans. Consistent with these results, unconjugated Le(x)- and Le(a)-capped glycans were dose-dependent inhibitors, which at saturation, reduced the ZP-induced acrosome reaction by about 60% and 30%, respectively. Experiments utilizing pharmacological inhibitors suggest that induction of the acrosome reaction by solubilized ZP and Le(x)- and Le(a)-containing neoglycoproteins require the same calcium-dependent pathway. However, only the ZP-induced acrosome reaction requires a functional G(i) protein. Thus, Le(x)-containing neoglycoproteins bind to a major class of ZP3 receptors on capacitated sperm. A Le(a)-containing neoglycoprotein binds a second ZP3 receptor but is a less-potent inducer of the acrosome reaction.
POTENT INHIBITION OF HUMAN LIVER ALDEHYDE OXIDASE BY RALOXIFENE

The selective estrogen receptor modulator, raloxifene, has been demonstrated as a potent uncompetitive inhibitor of human liver aldehyde oxidase-catalyzed oxidation of phthalazine, vanillin, and nicotine-Delta1'(5')-iminium ion, with K(i) values of 0.87 to 1.4 nM. Inhibition was not time-dependent. Raloxifene has also been shown to be a noncompetitive inhibitor of an aldehyde oxidase-catalyzed reduction reaction of a hydroxamic acid-containing compound, with a K(i) of 51 nM. However, raloxifene had only small effects on xanthine oxidase, an enzyme related to aldehyde oxidase. In addition, several other compounds of the same therapeutic class as raloxifene were examined for their potential to inhibit aldehyde oxidase. However, none were as potent as raloxifene, since IC(50) values were orders of magnitude higher and ranged from 0.29 to 57 micro M. In an examination of analogs of raloxifene, it was shown that the bisphenol structure with a hydrophobic group on the 3-position of the benzthiophene ring system was the most important element that imparts inhibitory potency. The relevance of these data to the mechanistic understanding of aldehyde oxidase catalysis, as well as to the potential for raloxifene to cause drug interactions with agents for which aldehyde oxidase-mediated metabolism is important, such as zaleplon or famciclovir, is discussed.
How Partisan Media Polarize America Matthew Levendusky. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2013.

How Partisan Media Polarize America Matthew Levendusky. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2013.Partisan news media are not new in the United States. For much of this nation's history, all news reporting was partisan. Early newspapers took a clear position on issues, siding with Federalists or Anti-Federalists, Whigs or Democrats, and eventually Republicans or Democrats. While the twentieth century saw a shift to objective journalism, partisan media have reemerged in recent years. In How Partisan Media Polarize America, Matthew Levendusky argues that the combination of partisan political news and the modern twenty-four hour news cycle has fundamentally changed the relationship between media, governance, and society.This central thesis leads to several questions. Do partisan media make individuals more polarized? Do partisan media make citizens less likely to trust or cooperate with the other political party? Do partisan media affect voting choices and the way people interpret elections? How do partisan media affect American politics in general? These questions frame Levendusky's research and provide the organizational structure for this book.Levendusky begins by demonstrating the relevance of partisan news media in contemporary society. While the audience of individual cable television programs still remains limited-and leading partisan cable news programs still attract less than half the viewership of the nightly network news broadcasts- ratings trends show that preferences are changing. News consumers are shifting away from traditional news and toward partisan cable news programs that offer heavy doses of analysis and perspective. Such changing preferences, combined with new economic, technological, and regulatory environments, have led to the rise of partisan cable news personalities, like Bill O'Reilly and Rachel Maddow, radio talk show hosts, like Rush Limbaugh and Randi Rhodes, and websites like Town Hall and Daily Kos. While polarized news programs exist across many media today, Levendusky places a special emphasis on cable news networks, and focuses on Fox News, which caters to a Republican and conservative audience, and MSNBC, which caters to a Democratic and liberal audience.After establishing the premise for this research in the first chapter, the book goes on to present data gathered in response to the four research questions. Chapter 2 presents the results of a series of case studies and a comparative analysis of news content during the 2008 presidential election and during the first year of the Obama administration. Chapter 3 explains the implications of partisan news coverage; Chapter 4 presents results from a series of five original experiments; Chapter 5 presents results from an additional three original experiments; Chapter 6 presents results from a new analysis of data from the 2008 National Annenberg Election Study; and Chapter 7 synthesizes and discusses the findings. …
Synergistic effect of HIV virion and bacterial LPS on memory B cell apoptosis (HUM8P.341)

Background: The effect of heightened microbial translocation on B cells in HIV infection is unknown. Methods: We examined the effects of HIV and LPS on CD27+IgD- memory B cell (mB) apoptosis in healthy controls. In vivo analysis was conducted on a cohort of 47 healthy and 49 HIV+ donors. Results: In vitro, exposure to LPS and HIV virus cooperated to induce mB death in PBMCs (P 0.05, n=4). LPS and LPS plus HIV induced Fas on mB (P<0.05, n=15) through mDCs. The induction of Fas was related to the susceptibility of mB to apoptosis by HIV and LPS (r=0.76, P=0.01). In vivo, in 46 HIV- and 56 HIV+ donors, mB apoptosis, Fas expression and plasma LPS were increased in HIV+ ART- and ART+ patients compared to controls (P<0.05), but plasma FasL were similar in controls and patients (P=0.94). Correspondingly, a positive correlation was found between plasma FasL and HIV RNA (r=0.67, P<0.0001), and the Fas on mB and plasma LPS (r=0.55, P<0.0001) in HIV+ donors, but not in controls. Conclusion: This study suggests a novel mechanism of mB apoptosis mediated by LPS and HIV through the Fas/FasL pathway. DCs play an important role in this process.
Power grid analysis benchmarks

Benchmarks are an immensely useful tool in performing research since they allow for rapid and clear comparison between different approaches to solving CAD problems. Recent experience from the placement [1] and routing [2] areas suggests that the ready availability of realistic industrial-size benchmarks can energize research in a given area, and can even lead to significant breakthroughs. To this end, we are making a number of power grid analysis benchmarks available for the public. These are all drawn from real designs, and vary over a reasonable range of size and difficulty thereby making studies of algorithm complexity possible. This paper documents the format for the various benchmarks, and give details for their access.
Taking the laboratory to the skies: Ambulatory assessment of self-report, autonomic, and respiratory responses in flying phobia

We evaluated the feasibility of recording multiple physiological anxiety measures during a flight and how well they could distinguish flight phobics from controls. Benefits of baseline adjustment and transformation for all variables and adjustment of heart rate by ventilation to give additional heart rate were calculated. Effect size, one measure of the power to discriminate groups, was between 1.1 and 1.7 for heart rate measures. Although respiratory rate and minute ventilation, indicators of hyperventilation, did not differ between groups, phobics paused more during inspiration than did controls. Phobics also showed more skin conductance fluctuations and less respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Self-reported anxiety was a more powerful discriminator than physiological measures, a result that may be partially explained by how phobics were selected. These results indicate that monitoring of multiple physiological systems outside the laboratory is practical and informative. Physiological measures of psychological importance can be quantified accurately in a noisy, changing, unsupervised ambulatory setting.
Markers elucidated and applied in local 3-space

The term "marker" as used in the active vision and reactive planning literature is poorly defined. The underspecification of the marker concept limits the usefulness of this important tool for building perception and action systems for autonomous robots. This paper refines the concept of markers, both at the level of their role in perception-action system, and the level of the representations used in their implementation. Our definition encompasses markers in dynamic 3D environments, which are retained even when not in the current perceptual input, either due to occlusion, a limited field of view, or sensing errors. We develop methods for maintaining the representation in the face of these difficulties. The marker concept is further elaborated by a categorization of marker types we have found useful in our research. Relationships among markers are also discussed: relationships which potentially form a link between classical and reactive planning. Finally, we describe a marker-based implementation of an autonomous agent performing search and avoidance tasks in a three-dimensional virtual environment.
Dual-mode EPR spectrometry of O2-pulsed cytochrome c oxidase

Abstract O2-activated bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase has been examined by dual-mode EPR spectrometry. Resonances have been observed at g = 10 and 4.5 in the parallel mode and at g = 10, 5, 1.8 and 1.7 in the normal mode. The bulk of these signals are interpreted to come from a stoichiometric S = 2 system with |a| = 0.17 cm−1, D = +2.1 cm−1, |E| = 0.026 cm−, g = 2. Exchange coupling between cytochrome a3 and CuB is not indicated.
Mimicks of Pancreatic Malignancy in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis: Correlation of Computed Tomography Imaging Features with Histopathologic Findings

Differentiation of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma can be a clinical and radiologic dilemma. Several patients with chronic pancreatitis can undergo unnecessary major abdominal surgery for benign lesions. This pictorial review illustrates the computed tomographic findings and histopathologic features of lesions mimicking pancreatic neoplasm in patients with chronic pancreatitis. Several benign lesions can simulate pancreatic malignancy in patients with chronic pancreatitis. Knowledge of the computed tomographic appearance of these benign entities is important to prevent unnecessary surgeries.
Geographies of Environmental Governance: The Nexus of Nature and Neoliberalism

Environmental governance has emerged as both a key organizing concept and priority arena of research for nature–society geographers. This article offers a critical review of the burgeoning geographical literature on environmental governance, emphasizing how geographers have employed the concept to analyze how neoliberal globalization has entailed a fundamental reconfiguration of the organizational and institutional arrangements through which society–environment relations are governed. I begin by tracing the diverse bodies of scholarship and theoretical perspectives – including political ecology and institutional theories of political economy – that have shaped how geographers have approached environmental governance. I then examine three themes central to work on the ‘neoliberalization’ of environmental governance: privatization and enclosure, the rescaling of governance, and the role of oppositional social movements. Finally, I propose that future research place more emphasis on documenting and analyzing the practices of neoliberal environmental governance through ethnographic methods.
Forum Theatre for Bystanders A New Model for Gender Violence Prevention

This article introduces the “Forum Theatre for Bystanders” (FTB) approach to gender violence prevention as practiced by social change groups at several midwestern universities in the United States. Largely informed by Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed and contemporary research on bystander theory, the Forum Theatre for Bystanders model offers a community-based approach that increases bystander responsibility and reduces victim blaming. The authors describe this model in detail and offer examples from their work to demonstrate its usefulness and efficacy.
Chronic effects of aorta-coronary sinus anastomosis of Beck in dogs.

Studies were made on dogs at various times up to one year following the coronary sinus anastomosis of Beck to determine the chronic effects of the operation. The results indicate that the graft perfuses the capillary bed of the occluded circumflex artery for about five weeks after the operation and then loses its functional contact with the capillary bed probably because of obliterative venous changes. However, as a result of an anoxia, there is definite development of intercoronary collateral vessels during the first few weeks, which persist throughout the year even though there is no arterial occlusion. It is concluded that in dogs the Beck operation is protective against the major effects of coronary ligation because of retrograde capillary flow early and intercoronary anastomoses later.