cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stones and Shafts Redux: The Metric Discrimination of Chipped-Stone Dart and Arrow Points

Many of the chipped-stone bifaces so common in the archaeological record functioned as the hafted points of darts or arrows. For archaeologists, these artifacts possess two salient properties: (1) they formed only part of a larger apparatus; but, (2) because perishables decompose, they ordinarily are the only part preserved. Consequently, the identity of that apparatus-i.e., whether dart or arrow-is not readily apparent. For various reasons, we may wish to know if stone bifaces functioned as dart or arrow points. Often we rely on reasonable assumptions, but Thomas's (1978) discriminant analysis is a more reliable way to distinguish the possibilities. This study extends Thomas's approach by increasing the dart sample and the rate of successful classification. Shoulder width is the most important discriminating variable. An independent test on a set of arrows also strengthens confidence in the results.
Mixture description of polarimetric SAR images and improved nonlocal speckle filtering

We introduce a polarimetric SAR speckle filter by combining finite mixture distributions and the so-called non-local filtering scheme. The finite mixture distributions are used to describe the statistical properties of the highly textured, heterogeneous scene in high-resolution SAR images. The non-local filtering scheme is used to test similarity in the local patterns to include sufficient pixels for better speckle reduction. The filter is capable of retaining distinctive scattering mechanisms from the onset. The improvement is demonstrated using DLR's high-resolution F-SAR images.
Women and the Work of Community

The term ‘community’ is an integral part of the discourse regarding social-service and human-service delivery in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Yet, there are a host of meanings and goals that are part of the project of community; these meanings reflect the ambiguous position of community with respect to ideas of publicity and privacy. In this paper I explore some of those meanings and goals through the use of interviews with women who work in nonprofit, community-based organizations that support human and social services. The focus is on the ways in which the women frame the concept of community and the ways in which these may be part of a strategy to create political and material spaces for caring, empowerment, and justice.
Hybrid SNCR-SCR technologies for NOx control: Modeling and experiment

The hybrid process of homogeneous gas-phase selective noncatalytic reduction (SNCR) followed by selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitric oxide (NO) was investigated through experimentation and modeling. Measurements, using NO-doped flue gas from a gas-fired 29 kW test combustor, provided data that allowed a fundamentally based catalyst monolith model, adapted from the literature, to be calibrated. The SCR model, which included pore and gas film diffusion (molecular and Knudsen) and Langmuir-Hinshelwood surface reaction kinetics, used published values for the catalyst preexponential factor and activation energy, and experimental measurements to determine the previously unavailable ammonia (NH 3 ) adsorption coefficient on the catalyst surface. Then, with no further adjustment, a combined SNCR-SCR model was developed using literature values for the reaction rate coefficients of 112 elementary homogeneous reactions. This combined model agreed well with combined SNCR-SCR data. The combined model was then extrapolated to practical coal combustion conditions, and the economic benefits of a combined SNCR-SCR process were explored. With a desired total NO reduction of 95% and NH 3 slip in the exhaust constrained not to exceed 5 ppm, adding SNCR led to only modest decreases in the required SCR catalyst volume. Estimated system capital and annualized costs were not economically viable unless the SNCR portion by itself reduced more than 60% of the NO.
Performance of psychiatric hospital discharges in strict and tolerant environments

Community mental health professionals are greatly concerned with the type of social environment most conducive to helping patients remain outside psychiatric institutions and improving the quality of their lives in the community. This paper examines the tolerance of deviance characterizing significant others in the patient's environment as it relates to community tenure and selected measures of performance and quality of life of the older patient in the community. A possible role is suggested for differential tolerance of deviance in the lives of patients discharged from psychiatric hospitals. Although it would appear that patients may return to the hospital at a higher rate from low tolerance environments, it may be that for patients who remain in the community, the quality of life may be better in low tolerance environments in terms of social in teraction and life satisfaction. The deviance model is of value in the continuing efforts to understand the role of the social environment in the community life of discharged patients. The trend to move mental patients from psychiatric hospitals into the community has increased concern about the type of social environment most conducive to helping patients remain outside psychiatric institutional walls and for enhancing the quality of their lives in the commu- nity. The deviance model offers one approach toward studying this issue. This model emphasizes the adverse social reaction to certain behaviors, including the imputation of "deviance" to the person showing that unusual behavior. Lemert (1951, 1967) holds that there are two types of deviance, primary and secondary. In the instance of primary deviance, the person is able to integrate his unusual behavior into a role that his family and friends regard as normal. Secondary deviance, on the other hand, entails the organization of the behavior into a role that is regarded as deviant. A number of writers (Gove, 1970; Fletcher & Reynolds, 1968) have applied these concepts to the mental illnesses. Scheff (1966), for example, considers psychiatric symp- toms and signs as violating social norms, and suggests that stable mental ill- ness may be regarded as a deviant social role. This perspective, in turn, suggests the importance of the social environment of the patient discharged from the psychiatric hospital, with its possibilities for keeping the patient in the community and improving his existence by doing so.
Pdx1 and BETA2/NeuroD1 participate in a transcriptional complex that mediates short-range DNA looping at the insulin gene.

The activity of the insulin gene, Ins, in islet β cells is thought to arise in part from the synergistic action of the transcription factors Pdx1 and BETA2/NeuroD1. We asked how the binding of these factors to A and E elements many tens or hundreds of base pairs upstream of the start site could influence activity of transcriptional machinery. We therefore tested the hypothesis that the complex of Pdx1 and BETA2/NeuroD1 maintains a DNA conformation such that distal regions of the gene are brought into proximity of the promoter and coding region. We show by coimmunoprecipitation that Pdx1 and BETA2/NeuroD1 exist within a complex and that the two physically interact with one another in this complex as assessed by fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Consistent with this interaction, we found that the two factors simultaneously occupy the same fragment of the Ins gene in β cell lines using the chromatin immunoprecipitation/re-chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Using a modification of the chromosome conformation capture assay in vitro and in β cells, we observed that Pdx1 and BETA2/NeuroD1 mediate looping of a segment of Ins that brings EcoRI sites located at –623 and +761 bp (relative to the transcriptional start site) in proximity to one another. This looping appears to be dependent in vitro upon an intact A3 binding element, but not upon the E2 element. Based on our findings, we propose a model whereby Pdx1 and BETA2/NeuroD1 physically interact to form a nucleoprotein complex on the Ins gene that mediates formation of a short DNA loop. Our results suggest that such short loop conformations may be a general mechanism to permit interactions between transcription factors and basal transcriptional machinery.
Effect of a Single-Point Mutation on the Conformation and Dynamics of Islet Amyloid Polypeptide from Nanosecond-Resolved Intramolecular Contact Formation

Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) is an intrinsically disordered protein involved in regulating glucose metabolism and gastric emptying. It plays a crucial role in beta cell failure in diabetes type II, where it accumulates in the form of amyloid fibers. Human IAPP (hIAPP) is arguably the most amyloidogenic naturally occurring peptide known so far. Recent work by Raleigh and coworkers shows that a single-point mutation (I26P) converts it into an effective in vitro amyloid inhibitor1,2. The I26P mutation has been proposed to inhibit fibril formation by affecting the ability of the disordered C terminal tail to rearrange into the amyloid fibril structure, while maintaining intact the conformational properties of the N-terminal region, putatively responsible for the formation of aggregate intermediates1,2. Though such mechanism has been proposed, the conformational and dynamical properties of the I26P monomer have not been experimentally determined yet.We use tryptophan triplet quenching by cystine to measure the rate of contact formation between the two ends of the I26P peptide. This technique has previously revealed conformational differences between rIAPP and hIAPP3. It allows detecting both changes in the equilibrium end-to-end distance distribution and in the diffusional dynamics of the end-to-end distance caused by fast reconfigurations of backbone dihedral angles. We compare results for I26P, hIAPP, rIAPP, and model worm like chain peptides of same length. We discuss the effect of proline substitutions on the conformation and dynamics of these intrinsically disordered proteins and their possible effect on amyloid aggregation.Footnotes1 Abedini A. et al. JACS 129 20072 Meng F. et al. JACS 132 20103 Vaiana SM et al. BiophysJ 97 2009
Abstract 1166: CXCR7-mediated signaling axis regulates breast cancer growth and metastasis by modulating tumor microenvironment

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Chemokine CXCL12 has been shown to bind chemokine receptor CXCR4 and CXCR7. Although extensive studies have been done to elucidate the role of CXCL12/CXCR4 signalling axis in tumor growth and metastasis, not much is known about the role of CXCL12/CXCR7 signalling axis in regulating breast cancer growth and metastasis. In order to study the role of CXCR7 in breast cancer growth and metastasis, we employed two models-i) 4T1 and CXCR7 downregulated 4T1 (4T1 shRNA-CXCR7) and ii) highly metastatic 4T1.2. First we observed CXCL12 induced and CXCR7 dependent migration of breast cancer cells and CXCL12 induced activation of ERK, STAT3 and cyclin D1, a downstream target of STAT3. In orthotopic syngenic models of breast cancer, we found reduced tumor growth and metastasis of breast cancer cells genetically silenced or pharmacologically inhibited for CXCR7 or its downstream target STAT3. The downregulation or inhibition of CXCR7 or its downstream target reduced tumor proliferation, angiogenesis and macrophage (M2) recruitment to the tumor site. Further analysis revealed the role of CXCR7 in secretion of cytokines (GMCSF, M-CSF and MCP-2), and expression of MMP-9, MMP-2 and VCAM-1. Moreover, we observed that CXCR7 is highly expressed in breast cancer tissues and positively correlates with disease progression from invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) to metastasis. These observations highlight the importance of the CXCR7 axis in regulating breast cancer growth and metastasis. Blocking the CXCL12/CXCR7/STAT3 axis and macrophage recruitment to the tumor site with CXCR7 or STAT3 inhibitor may lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies against breast cancer. Citation Format: Nissar A. Wani. CXCR7-mediated signaling axis regulates breast cancer growth and metastasis by modulating tumor microenvironment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1166. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1166
Pinworm (enterobius vermicularis)

Abstract Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) is a tiny helminth that lives in the human cecum. Its prevalence varies widely by region and institutional setting. Prevalence greater than 70 percent has been reported among Asian children in orphanages and adults at autopsy after sudden death. In other settings, pinworm infection is rare. Pinworm is diagnosed relatively easily with a perianal sticky tape test and microscope visualization of eggs or worms. Treatment also is straightforward using pyrantel pamoate, mebendazole, or albendazole once and repeated in 2 weeks. Eggs persist in home or institutional environments and can reinfect. Serious sequelae are not thought to be common, but they can include peritonitis, mesenteric abscess, intestinal perforation, enteric ulceration, enteritis, Meckel diverticulitis, and intussusception from ectopic worm movement. More controversial is the association of pinworm with appendicitis, urinary tract infection, and enuresis; evidence for and against these associations is discussed in the review. Pediatricians encounter pinworm in varying frequencies depending on local environmental dynamics, but this pathogen must be considered on a daily basis worldwide for a wide variety of potential manifestations. Copyright © 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company
The biologic activity of mast cell granules. VIII: In vivo and in vitro characterization of mast cell granule―derived inflammatory factors involved in rat late-phase reactions

Intradermal injections of isolated mast cell granules (MCGs), as well as solubilized high-molecular-weight (HMW) (>10,000 daltons) and low-molecular-weight (LMW) (10,000>MW>500 daltons) fractionated granule constituents, can produce inflammatory responses termed late-phase reactions (LPRs). The identity and mechanism of action of various inflammatory factor(s) contained within these fractions is incompletely established. Since rat LPRs are neutrophil-dependent responses, we analyzed the inherent neutrophil chemoattractant potential of HMW and LMW granule fractions using a 48-well microchemotaxis chamber. Although both HMW and LMW fractions attracted rat neutrophils, the LMW fraction was less active at equivalent protein concentrations. Checkerboard analysis demonstrated that the HMW fraction enhanced random migration of neutrophils, indicating that the HMW fraction contains factors that are primarily chemokinetic. To analyze further the HMW fraction, solubilized MCGs were sequentially fractionated with XM300 (MW>300,000 daltons), YM100 (300,000>MW>100,000 daltons), XM50 (100,000>MW>50,000 daltons), and YM10 (50,000>MW>10,000 daltons) ultrafiltration membranes. This process revealed that most in vivo inflammation-provoking activity as well as the in vitro chemoattractant activity resided in the XM300 and YM100 retentate fractions. Two of the major constituents of the HMW fraction, heparin and chymase, were evaluated for their contribution to the chemoattraction. Purified MDG heparin did not evoke neutrophil migratory responses in vitro or in vivo. Sepharose 4B chromatography of solubilized MCG demonstrated a peak of inflammation-provoking activity beginning at the void volume and tapering off near the 400,000 MW range. This in vivo activity was clearly separable from the chymase activity and represents the HMW inflammatory factors. These results demonstrate that both HMW and LMW granule fractions contain inflammatory activities capable of producing LPR in vivo and suggest that enhancement of neutrophil migration at sites of mast cell degranulation is one mechanism of action.
Role of heart rate reduction in the treatment of exercise-induced myocardial ischaemia

The role of bradycardia in reducing exercise-induced ischaemia and wall dysfunction was examined in dogs with single vessel chronic coronary artery stenosis created using an ameroid constrictor. Treadmill exercise produced significant regional myocardial ischaemia (blood flow measured using microspheres) and contractile dysfunction (systolic wall thickening measured with sonomicrometers). Dogs were initially studied during a control run before and during a second identical run after administration of the cardioselective beta-adrenergic blocker atenolol, which improved regional ischaemic function from 4.4±3.7% to 8.5±2.8% and subendocardial perfusion from 0.43±0.23 to 0.55±0.29 ml min-1 g-1. In another group of dogs during a run with atenolol, the heart rate was paced to match the rate observed in the control run. During the atenolol run with pacing, all beneficial effects of atenolol observed at the reduced exercise heart rate were lost. A third group of dogs received the bradycardic agent UL-FS 49 (1.0 mg kg-1, i.v.) prior to exercise. UL-FS 49 produced a heart rate reduction during exercise from 230±19 to 139±10 beats min-1; this was associated with an increase in systolic wall thickening from 9.3±5.0% (during the control run) to 21.5±8.4%, thereby eliminating the exercise-induced contractile dysfunction. Transmural myocardial blood flow per beat to the poststenotic myocardium was improved significantly from 4.8 × 10-3 ± 1.9 × 10-3 ml beat-1 to 9.8 × 10-3 ± 1.7 × 10-3. Atrial pacing to match heart rate to the control exercise rate during the UL-FS 49 run did not eliminate all of the improvement in systolic wall thickening. Thus, heart rate reduction is essential for the beneficial effect of beta-adrenergic blockade during exercise-induced ischaemia. Bradycardia produced by UL-FS 49 improved myocardial blood flow to the poststenotic myocardium and eliminated contractile dysfunction during exercise without negative inotropic effects.
False-Positive Rapid Plasma Reagin Tests in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Relationship to Anti-Cardiolipin Antibody and Serum Immunoglobulin Levels

The incidence of biologic false-positive rapid plasma reagin (RPR) tests may be increased in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; however, injecting drug use has not been excluded as the cause. Review of 3371 periodic syphilis serology results from 1077 HIV-seropositive patients in the United States Air Force HIV Natural History Study between January 1986 and June 1992 revealed a cumulative biologic false-positive RPR rate of 1%. Most (6/9) were transient low-titer results associated with a recent acute infectious process. False-positive RPR tests did not appear to correlate with anticardiolipin antibody levels or serum IgG or IgA levels, which are increased in HIV infection. Although not statistically significant, there was a trend toward higher IgM levels in patients with biologic false-positive tests. Thus, the incidence of false-positive RPR in an HIV-infected population with a low risk of injecting drug use is similar to that in the general population, and the mechanism may correlate with elevated serum IgM levels.
Sheep amniotic fluid has a protein factor which stimulates human fibroblast populated collagen lattice contraction.

Sutured incisional wounds made in fetal sheep and rabbits heal without scarring. Fetal sheep excisional wounds can close by contraction, but those in fetal rabbits do not. In vivo and in vitro evidence suggests that rabbit amniotic fluid inhibits wound contraction. The question arises: does sheep amniotic fluid promote wound contraction because their fetal wounds close by contraction? Sheep amniotic fluid (SAF) from 100 and 125 days gestation was tested in fibroblast populated collagen lattice (FPCL) system, an in vitro model of wound contraction. SAF stimulated FPCL contraction in a dose responsive manner. SAF from a 100 day fetus was more stimulating than a 125 day SAF. SAF enhanced FPCL contraction in the presence or absence of serum. SAF was fractionated by size, using column chromatography. It yielded a fraction with an estimated molecular weigh near 40,000 daltons, which stimulated FPCL contraction. The factor was inactivated by proteolytic digestion and heat denaturation. This protein fraction which stimulates FPCL contraction is not related to (1) actin-myosin filaments enhanced contraction by ATP-induced cell contraction, (2) promotion of fibroblast elongation on glass surface or in collagen, or (3) increased cell number by enhanced fibroblast duplication in a collagen matrix. A mechanism for SAF promotion of FPCL contraction was investigated but not identified.
Preliminary evidence for a lower mantle shear wave velocity discontinuity beneath the central Pacific

Abstract In a dataset consisting of long-period waveforms (5–20 s) and differential travel times of S, ScS, and the arrival from the D″ layer, Scd, evidence is found for a laterally varying shear wave velocity ( V S ) discontinuity at the base of the mantle. Two different localized D″ regions beneath the central Pacific have been investigated. Predictions from a model having a V S discontinuity 180 km above the core-mantle boundary (CMB) agree well with observations for an eastern mid-Pacific CMB region. This thickness differs from V S discontinuity thicknesses found in other regions, which average near 280 km. The data presented here from a western mid-Pacific CMB region are more complicated, and are difficult to fit with a one-dimensional (1-D) structure. Some of the data from the western region show evidence for a thicker D″ layer (approximately 280 km), though this finding is poorly constrained. Our data do not resolve the ‘sharpness’ of the V S jump at the top of D″, i.e. the depth range over which the V S increase occurs, and in fact may be modeled equally well by a lower mantle with the increase in V S at the top of D″ occurring over a 100 km depth range. The Scd-S and ScS-S differential travel times were corrected for a published 3-D mantle model, to study upper and middle mantle heterogeneity effects on these times.
Some effects of lysergic acid diethylamide on visual discrimination in pigeons.

Six pigeons were tested on a visual discrimination between light flickering at various frequencies and a steady light, under saline and LSD. The birds were required to respond for food rewardby pecking on the left key in the experimental box at FR35 if the light was steady, and at FR35 on the right key if the light flickered. Incorrect responses were never rewarded. Each experimental session continued until the bird obtained 60 reinforcements. The doses of LSD were 20, 40, and 80 μg/kg, administered by i.m. injection. 20 μg/kg produced a significant increase in accuracy of performance and the results with 80 μg/kg suggest a decrement in accuracy. Depression of the rate of responding as well as periods of complete cessation of responding were found to occur in dose-related fashion. Tolerance to the rate and pause effects apparently developed over the testing period of about 10 months.
Influence of the NH2-terminal Amino Acid of the T Cell Receptor α Chain on Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Class II + Peptide Recognition

The α/β T cell receptor (TCR) recognizes peptide fragments bound in the groove of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. We modified the TCR α chain from a mouse T cell hybridoma and tested its ability to reconstitute TCR expression and function in an α chain–deficient variant of the hybridoma. The modified α chain differed from wild type only in its leader peptide and mature NH2-terminal amino acid. Reconstituted cell surface TCR complexes reacted normally with anti-TCR and anti-CD3 antibodies. Although cross-linking of this TCR with an antibody to the TCR idiotype elicited vigorous T cell hybridoma activation, stimulation with its natural MHC + peptide ligand did not. We demonstrated that this phenotype could be reproduced simply by substituting the glutamic acid (E) at the mature NH2 terminus of the wild type TCR α chain with aspartic acid (D). The substitution also dramatically reduced the affinity of soluble α/β-TCR heterodimers for soluble MHC + peptide molecules in a cell-free system, suggesting that it did not exert its effect simply by disrupting TCR interactions with accessory molecules on the hybridoma. These results demonstrate for the first time that amino acids which are not in the canonical TCR complementarity determining regions can be critical in determining how the TCR engages MHC + peptide.
Socioeconomic Status Modifies the Sex Difference in Spatial Skill

We examined whether the male spatial advantage varies across children from different socioeconomic (SES) groups. In a longitudinal study, children were administered two spatial tasks requiring mental transformations and a syntax comprehension task in the fall and spring of second and third grades. Boys from middle-and high-SES backgrounds outperformed their female counterparts on both spatial tasks, whereas boys and girls from a low-SES group did not differ in their performance level on these tasks. As expected, no sex differences were found on the verbal comprehension task. Prior studies have generally been based on the assumption that the male spatial advantage reflects ability differences in the population as a whole. Our finding that the advantage is sensitive to variations in SES provides a challenge to this assumption, and has implications for a successful explanation of the sex-related difference in spatial skill.
Sr, Mg, and Ca chemistry of the skeleton of Nautilus

Concentrations of Sr, Mg, and Ca were quantified for the shell and septa formed during the final 3 to 4 yr of growth for four species of the extant cephalopod genus Nautilus [ N. belauensis Saunders 1981, N. macromphalus Sowerby 1849, N. scrobiculatus (Lightfoot 1786), and N. pompilius Linnaeus 1758]. These data are used to describe several aspects of the physiochemistry of Nautilus in relation to biomineralization of shell and septal aragonite. Species of Nautilus discriminate against the concentrations of Sr and Mg relative to Ca in seawater by 79% and 99.9%, respectively. The power of this discrimination against Sr and Mg varies for shell and septal aragonite within and among species. Although the among-species variation in the Sr and Mg content of shell and septal aragonite is greater than the within-species variation, differences in these concentrations are not unique among all species. However, when the covariance of Sr and Mg is computed as a transformed variable (discriminant function), species can be distinguished with significance ( P <0.001) by the combined Sr and Mg chemistry of septal aragonite. Similarly, all species with the exception of N. macromphalus and N. pompilius can be distinguished by the combined Sr and Mg chemistry of shell aragonite.
Micro-RNA-128 (miRNA-128) down-regulation in glioblastoma targets ARP5 (ANGPTL6), Bmi-1 and E2F-3a, key regulators of brain cell proliferation.

High density micro-RNA (miRNA) arrays, fluorescent-reporter miRNA assay and Northern miRNA dot-blot analysis show that a brain-enriched miRNA-128 is significantly down-regulated in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and in GBM cell lines when compared to age-matched controls. The down-regulation of miRNA-128 was found to inversely correlate with WHO tumor grade. Three bioinformatics-verified miRNA-128 targets, angiopoietin-related growth factor protein 5 (ARP5; ANGPTL6), a transcription suppressor that promotes stem cell renewal and inhibits the expression of known tumor suppressor genes involved in senescence and differentiation, Bmi-1, and a transcription factor critical for the control of cell-cycle progression, E2F-3a, were found to be up-regulated. Addition of exogenous miRNA-128 to CRL-1690 and CRL-2610 GBM cell lines (a) restored ‘homeostatic’ ARP5 (ANGPTL6), Bmi-1 and E2F-3a expression, and (b) significantly decreased the proliferation of CRL-1690 and CRL-2610 cell lines. Our data suggests that down-regulation of miRNA-128 may contribute to glioma and GBM, in part, by coordinately up-regulating ARP5 (ANGPTL6), Bmi-1 and E2F-3a, resulting in the proliferation of undifferentiated GBM cells.
Overweight and Increased Cardiovascular Mortality: No French Paradox

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Currently, one third of US adults are classified as obese and another one third as overweight. Obesity is also a growing epidemic in other parts of the world. The French, who have enjoyed relatively low rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD), are also experiencing expanding waistlines.1 Although the health hazards of obesity are widely recognized, the relationship between the middle range of body mass index (BMI) values and mortality is less clear because epidemiologic studies have found linear and curve-linear relationships between BMI and mortality. However, epidemiologic studies of BMI and mortality have been fraught with methodologic problems, including failure to control for cigarette smoking; inappropriate control of biologic effects of obesity, such as hypertension and hyperglycemia; and failure to consider weight loss attributable to subclinical diseases.2 These biases have led to the typical J- or U-shaped relationship between BMI and mortality seen in many epidemiologic studies and to a systematic underestimate of the impact of obesity on premature mortality. For example, in a recent analysis of NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) data sets, Flegal et al3 found that excess mortality attributable to obesity was much lower than reported previously, and that being overweight was associated with a lower mortality compared with normal weight. However, these findings are most likely the result of artifact attributable to the methodologic flaws mentioned above. In particular, the study failed to exclude persons from the analyses who had chronic diseases at baseline and did not adequately control for smoking, leading to artificially elevated mortality among the lean …
Plasma Biomarkers That Reflect Determinants of Matrix Composition Identify the Presence of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy and Diastolic Heart Failure

Background—Chronic pressure overload (such as arterial hypertension) may cause left ventricular (LV) remodeling, alterations in cardiac function, and the development of diastolic heart failure. Changes in the composition of the myocardial extracellular matrix may contribute to the development of pressure-overload–induced LV remodeling. We hypothesized that a specific pattern of plasma biomarker expression that reflected changes in these pathophysiological mechanisms would have diagnostic application to identify (1) patients who have development of LV hypertrophy (LVH) and (2) patients with LVH who have development of diastolic heart failure. Methods and Results—Plasma concentration of 17 biomarkers (matrix metalloproteinase [MMP]-1, -2, -3, -7, -8, and -9; tissue inhibitors -1, -2, -3, and -4; N-terminal propeptide of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP); cardiotrophin; osteopontin; soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products; collagen I teleopeptide; collagen I NT-proBNP; and collagen III N-ter...
Assessment of Burmese refugee students' meaning making of scientific informational texts

This two and a half year study examines how non-native English-speaking Burmese refugee students from first to third grades made meaning of scientific informational texts. The study is framed by so...
Tracker: continuous HMMER and BLAST searching

Summary: Tracker is a web-based email alert system for monitoring protein database searches using HMMER and Blast-P, nucleotide searches using Blast-N and literature searches of the PubMed database. Users submit searches via a web-based interface. Searches are saved and run against updated databases to alert users about new information. If there are new results from the saved searches, users will be notified by email and will then be able to access results and link to additional information on the NCBI website. Tracker supports Boolean AND/OR operations on HMMER and BLASTP result sets to allow users to broaden or narrow protein searches. Availability: The server is located at http://jay.bioinformatics.ku.edu/tracker/index.html. A distribution package including detailed installation procedure is freely available from http://jay.bioinformatics.ku.edu/download/tracker/ Contact: [email protected]
The Sun-Times Straw Poll, 1968 and 1970: A Statistical Appraisal

Abstract The Chicago Sun-Times proudly boasts of the “38-year record of accuracy in predicting the outcome of Illinois elections” which its Straw Poll has maintained. In this article the methodology and the record of the 1968 and 1970 Sun-Times Straw Poll are examined in detail. For both years, a set of 80 predictions for Cook County, Illinois is analyzed, and an attempt is made to partition the the error into components, using an additive linear model and least squares. Straw poll results are compared with those produced by the method of persistence forecasting, and suggestions are made for improvement of the Sun-Times Straw Poll accuracy.
Viewing preferences, symptoms of psychological trauma, and violent behaviors among children who watch television

ABSTRACT Objective To examine the extent to which children's television-viewing practices are associated with symptoms of psychological trauma and aggressive behaviors. The following three hypotheses were tested: (1) children who report watching greater amounts of television per day will report higher levels of trauma symptoms than children who report lesser amounts of television viewing; (2) children who report watching greater amounts of television per day will report higher levels of violent behaviors than children who report watching lesser amounts of television per day; and (3) children who report a preference for action and fighting programs will report higher levels of violent behaviors than children who report a preference for other types of television programs. Method The study used a survey design in which an anonymous self-report questionnaire was administered to students in grades 3 through 8 in 11 Ohio public schools during the 1995–1996 school year ( N = 2,245). Results All three hypotheses were supported. Conclusion Heavy television viewing by children may indicate the presence of problems such as depression, anxiety, and violent behaviors; such viewing should be screened for by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals working with children. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1998, 37(10):1041–1048.
Making Doctors and Nurses for Jesus: Medical Missionary Stories and American Children

The December 1899 issue of Our Little Friend, a Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath school paper containing moral instruction, missionary stories, and the upcoming week's Bible study lessons, related the following story to its young readers:
Producing Large Transient Electromagnetic Fields in a Small Region: An Electromagnetic Implosion

One approach to a transient electromagnetic radiator is an impulse radiating antenna (IRA) [1]. In this case an antenna aperture is focused at infinity. While there are several ways to realize an IRA (reflector, lens, array), the reflector type is very practical, especially for large ones, if electronic beam steering is not required. Basic physical considerations are discussed in [2]. What if, instead, one has a target which is relatively close to the antenna so that focusing at infinity may not be appropriate. Focusing at the target can then be used to increase the field strengths there [3, 4]. Such is the subject of the present paper.
Toll-like receptor 4 signaling contributes to Paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy.

This paper tests the contribution of the toll-like receptors (TLRs), TLR4 in particular, in the initiation and maintenance of paclitaxel-related chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). TLR4 and its immediate down-stream signaling molecules MyD88 and TRIF were increased in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) by western blot by day 7 of paclitaxel treatment. The behavioral phenotype, the increase of both TLR4 and MyD88 was blocked by co-treatment with the TLR4 antagonist LPS-RS during chemotherapy. A similar, but less robust behavioral effect was observed using intrathecal treatment of MyD88 homodimerization inhibitory peptide. DRG levels of TLR4 and MyD88 reduced over the next two weeks, whereas these levels remained increased in spinal cord through day 21 following chemotherapy. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed TLR4 expression in both CGRP- and IB4-positive small DRG neurons. MyD88 was only found in CGRP-positive neurons and TRIF was found both in CGRP- and IB4-positive small DRG neurons as well as in medium and large size DRG neurons. In spinal cord TLR4 was only found co-localized to astrocytes but not with either microglia or neurons. Intrathecal treatment with the TLR4 antagonist lipopolysaccharide-RS (LPS-RS) transiently reversed pre-established CIPN mechanical hypersensitivity. These results strongly implicate TLR4 signaling in DRG and spinal cord in the induction and maintenance of paclitaxel related CIPN.
A biviscous modified Bingham model of snow avalanche motion

A modified Bingham numerical model is developed and tested for the simulation of the motion of snow avalanches. This two-dimensional, incompressible model takes the form of a two-viscosity system in which a large viscosity is employed in the low stress regions of the flow and a smaller viscosity is used in the high stress regions. The model involves three parameters: the two viscosities, and the value of the stress for the transition between the two flow regimes. A simple no-slip boundary condition is used at the interface between the flowing snow and the stationary snow surface. Model parameters are evaluated by simulating the motion of the leading edge of the flowing snow, velocity versus depth information, and debris distribution of small snow test experiments.
The design of two easily-testable VLSI array multipliers

Array multipliers are well-suited for VLSI implementation because of the regularity in their iterative structure. However, most VLSI circuits are very difficult to test. This paper shows that, with appropriate cell design, array multipliers can be designed to be very easily-testable. An array multiplier is called C-testable if all its adder cells can be exhaustively tested while requiring only a constant number of test patterns. The testability of two well-known array multiplier structures are studied. The conventional design of the carry-save array multiplier is shown to be not C-testable. However, a modified design, using a modified adder cell, is generated and shown lo be C-testable and requires only 76 test patterns. Similar results are obtained for the Baugh-Wooley two's complement array multiplier. A modified design of the Baugh-Wooley array multiplier is shown to be C-testable and requires 55 test patterns. The implementation of a practical C-testable 16 × 16 array multiplier is also presented.
Myxosarcoma in a Young Rhesus Monkey

A myxosarcoma that arose spontaneously in the ilial region of a young male Rhesus monkey grew rapidly and invaded and lysed the pelvic bones. It consisted of large pleomorphic cells, with single or multiple nuclei and dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum, in abundant intercellular matrix.
cAMP Pulse During Preservation Inhibits the Late Development of Cardiac Isograft and Allograft Vasculopathy

Abstract —The causes of transplant-associated coronary artery disease remain obscure, and there is no known treatment. Preservation injury of murine heterotopic vascularized cardiac isografts caused a small, albeit significant, increase in neointimal formation; preservation injury of allografts markedly increased both the incidence and severity of transplant-associated coronary artery disease. As cAMP is an important vascular homeostatic mediator the levels of which decline during organ preservation, buttressing cAMP levels solely during initial preservation both improved acute allograft function and reduced the severity of transplant-associated coronary artery disease in grafts examined 2 months later. Inhibiting the cAMP-dependent protein kinase abrogated these beneficial effects. cAMP treatment was associated with an early reduction in leukocyte infiltration and a reciprocal decrease in superoxide and increase in NO levels. These data indicate that alloantigen-independent injury to the graft, which occurs at the time of cardiac preservation, can set in motion pathological vascular events that are manifest months later. Furthermore, a cAMP pulse during cardiac preservation reduces the incidence and severity of transplant-associated coronary artery disease.
5-HT4-mediated neuroprotection: a new therapeutic modality on the way?

enteric neurons have a hard life. Unlike their counterparts in the central nervous system, enteric neurons lack the protection against mechanical damage that a hard skull and the cushioning of cerebrospinal fluid provide. Myenteric neurons, moreover, must also endure the shearing and pressure that
Is the G-quadruplex an effective nanoconductor for ions?

We use a stepwise pulling protocol in molecular dynamics simulations to identify how a G-quadruplex selects and conducts Na+, K+, and NH4+ ions. By estimating the minimum free-energy changes of the ions along the central channel via Jarzynski’s equality, we find that the G-quadruplex selectively binds the ionic species in the following order: K+ > Na+ > NH4+. This order implies that K+ optimally fits the channel. However, the features of the free-energy profiles indicate that the channel conducts Na+ best. These findings are in fair agreement with experiments on G-quadruplexes and reveal a profoundly different behavior from the prototype potassium-ion channel KcsA, which selects and conducts the same ionic species. We further show that the channel can also conduct a single file of water molecules and deform to leak water molecules. We propose a range for the conductance of the G-quadruplex.
Disturbances of motor unit rate modulation are prevalent in muscles of spastic-paretic stroke survivors

Stroke survivors often exhibit abnormally low motor unit firing rates during voluntary muscle activation. Our purpose was to assess the prevalence of saturation in motor unit firing rates in the spastic-paretic biceps brachii muscle of stroke survivors. To achieve this objective, we recorded the incidence and duration of impaired lower- and higher-threshold motor unit firing rate modulation in spastic-paretic, contralateral, and healthy control muscle during increases in isometric force generated by the elbow flexor muscles. Impaired firing was considered to have occurred when firing rate became constant (i.e., saturated), despite increasing force. The duration of impaired firing rate modulation in the lower-threshold unit was longer for spastic-paretic (3.9 ± 2.2 s) than for contralateral (1.4 ± 0.9 s; P < 0.001) and control (1.1 ± 1.0 s; P = 0.005) muscles. The duration of impaired firing rate modulation in the higher-threshold unit was also longer for the spastic-paretic (1.7 ± 1.6 s) than contralateral (0.3 ± 0.3 s; P = 0.007) and control (0.1 ± 0.2 s; P = 0.009) muscles. This impaired firing rate of the lower-threshold unit arose, despite an increase in the overall descending command, as shown by the recruitment of the higher-threshold unit during the time that the lower-threshold unit was saturating, and by the continuous increase in averages of the rectified EMG of the biceps brachii muscle throughout the rising phase of the contraction. These results suggest that impairments in firing rate modulation are prevalent in motor units of spastic-paretic muscle, even when the overall descending command to the muscle is increasing.
Cellular mechanisms involved in luteolysis.

Regression of the mammalian corpus luteum is commonly thought to involve autophagy (cellular self-digestion) or heterophagy (removal of cells by macrophages), or both. However, few studies have focused on these mechanisms, and their actual importance in luteolysis thus remains uncertain. Moreover, studies dealing with these topics have often come to differing conclusions; e.g., van Lennep and Madden (1) reported that autophagy was probably only a minor component in the overall process of involution in humans, whereas it was proposed in a study on sheep that autophagy played a substantial role in the destruction of luteal tissue (2).
7,8-benzoflavone binding to human cytochrome P450 3A4 reveals complex fluorescence quenching, suggesting binding at multiple protein sites

Human cytochrome P450 (P450) 3A4 is involved in the metabolism of one-half of marketed drugs and shows cooperative interactions with some substrates and other ligands. The interaction between P450 ...
Fourier Multispectral Imaging: Measuring Spectra, One Sinusoid at a Time

We recently introduced the notion of Fourier Multispectral Imaging (Fourier MSI), a novel technique for undersampling spectral images without significant sacrifices to the spectral features that may be useful for material identification. The idea originated in Fourier transform spectroscopy, where multiple interferometric measurements are used to take spectral samples while varying optical path difference (OPD). Since interference is equivalent to spectral modulation by a filter with sinusoidally shaped transmittance function, we designed a sinusoidal filter using thin film Fabry-Perot to acquire OPD samples at every pixel. Owing to the rapid decay of OPD samples, Fourier MSI is an ideal multispectral imaging modality for preserving spectral features with the fewest spectral samples. We detail our prototyping efforts and demonstrate the advantages of such multispectral imaging configurations.