cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multi-label Classification of Stem Cell Microscopy Images Using Deep Learning

This paper develops a pattern recognition and machine learning system to localize cell colony subtypes in multi-label, phase-contrast microscopy images. A convolutional neural network is trained to recognize homogeneous cell colonies, and is used in a sliding-window patch based testing method to localize these homogeneous cell types within heterogeneous, multi-label images. The method is used to determine the effects of nicotine on induced pluripotent stem cells expressing the Huntington's disease phenotype. The results of the network are compared to those of an ECOC classifier trained on texture features. The ability of the network to localize cell phenotypes within heterogeneous colonies is visualized and the temporal behavior of stem cells is analyzed.
Diabetes Care and Management Using Electronic Medical Records: A Systematic Review.

Background:Diabetes treatment and management provide a unique opportunity for examination of the effectiveness of electronic health records (EHRs) on patient health outcomes, continuity of care, an...
A Comprehensive RNA-seq Analysis of Human Bocavirus 1 Transcripts in Infected Human Airway Epithelium.

Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1) infects well-differentiated (polarized) human airway epithelium (HAE) cultured at an air-liquid interface (ALI). In the present study, we applied next-generation RNA sequencing to investigate the genome-wide transcription profile of HBoV1, including viral mRNA and small RNA transcripts, in HBoV1-infected HAE cells. We identified novel transcription start and termination sites and confirmed the previously identified splicing events. Importantly, an additional proximal polyadenylation site (pA)p2 and a new distal polyadenylation site (pA)dREH lying on the right-hand hairpin (REH) of the HBoV1 genome were identified in processing viral pre-mRNA. Of note, all viral nonstructural proteins-encoding mRNA transcripts use both the proximal polyadenylation sites [(pA)p1 and (pA)p2] and distal polyadenylation sites [(pA)d1 and (pA)dREH] for termination. However, capsid proteins-encoding transcripts only use the distal polyadenylation sites. While the (pA)p1 and (pA)p2 sites were utilized at roughly equal efficiency for proximal polyadenylation of HBoV1 mRNA transcripts, the (pA)d1 site was more preferred for distal polyadenylation. Additionally, small RNA-seq analysis confirmed there is only one viral noncoding RNA (BocaSR) transcribed from nt 5199–5340 of the HBoV1 genome. Thus, our study provides a systematic and unbiased transcription profile, including both mRNA and small RNA transcripts, of HBoV1 in HBoV1-infected HAE-ALI cultures.
Effects of nicotinamide on spatial memory and inflammation after juvenile traumatic brain injury

Abstract Age is a consistent predictor of outcome following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although children and adolescents have the highest rate of hospitalizations and long-term disabilities, few preclinical studies have attempted to model and treat TBI in this population. Studies using nicotinamide (NAM), a soluble B-group vitamin , in older animals (3–6 months) have shown improved functional recovery in experimental models of TBI. The purpose of this study was two-fold: to examine the preclinical efficacy of NAM at different doses on behavioral outcomes in juvenile rats and examine the microglial response over time. Groups of juvenile rats (PND 28–60) were assigned to sham, NAM (125 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg, or 1000 mg/kg) or saline (1 mL/kg) and received unilateral cortical contusion injuries (CCI) and received injections at 15 min, 24 h, and 72 h after injury. Animals treated with NAM demonstrated no significant behavioral improvements over saline treatments. NAM treatments did however show slowed cortical loss and reduced microglia compared to saline treated animals. In summary, the preclinical efficacy of NAM as a treatment following CCI in juvenile animals differs from that previously documented in older rat models. While NAM treatments did reduce microglial activity and slowed progression of cortical loss, it did not reduce the total cortical volume lost nor did it improve behavioral outcomes. The findings of this study emphasize the need to examine potential treatments for TBI utilizing juvenile populations and may explain why so many treatments have failed in clinical trials.
Morphologies of Somatostatin-Immunoreactive Neurons in the Rabbit Retina

The development of antibodies directed to putative transmitters, or their biosynthetic enzymes, has led to the identification and characterization of several specific cell populations in the vertebrate retina (Brecha, 1983; Ehinger and Dowling, 1987). In addition to defining the distribution of putative transmitter-containing cells within the retina, these studies have identified morphological substrates which might underlie the presumed functional roles of these transmitters in visual processing. These substrates include not only the regional distribution of the identified cell population, but also the morphologies of its individual cells, including both somal position and the laminar distribution of cellular processes within the plexiform layers.
Effect of bunch shape on its TMCI spectrum and threshold with high space charge

Transverse mode coupling instability of bunched beam is investigated in the paper at different form of the bunches with space charge included. Equation of transverse motion of the bunch in parabolic potential well of synchrotron oscillations is derived and analysed. The bunch of constant density (flat bunch) is examined in detail to make comparison with the square well model. It is shown that both models result in very close instability thresholds of the flat bunch. Then different form bunches are investigated in the parabolic potential well. It is shown that decrease of the bunch r.m.s length leads to the growth of its threshold, that is the flat bunch model gives only a minimal estimation of the threshold. The results are treated in terms of Landau damping due to spread of the space charge tune shift.
Research on Coordinated Stability Control of Automobile 4WS and ESP System Based on Road Surface

In the paper, the limitation of four wheels steering system (4WS) under extreme conditions was considered, A coordinated control of 4WS and electronic stability program (ESP) based on road adhesion coefficient was proposed. The road adhesion coefficient was estimated by extended Kalman filter method. Based on different road adhesion coefficients, the coordinated fuzzy controller of 4WS and ESP system was designed. The simulation was carried out by Carsim and Simulink. The results showed us the coordinated stability control of automobile 4WS and ESP System greatly improving the steering stability of a car compared with the single system.
Eclipsed Cinema: The Film Culture of Colonial Korea

In this ground-breaking investigation into the seldom-studied film culture of colonial Korea (1910-1945), Dong Hoon Kim brings new perspectives to the associations between colonialism, modernity, film historiography and national cinema. By reconstructing the lost intricacies of colonial film history, Eclipsed Cinema explores under-investigated aspects of colonial film culture, such as the representational politics of colonial cinema, the film unit of the colonial government, the social reception of Hollywood cinema, and Japanese settlers’ film culture. Filling a significant void in Asian film history, [this book] greatly expands the critical and historical scopes of early cinema and Korean and Japanese film histories, as well as modern Asian culture, and colonial and postcolonial studies.
Isolation of CD34+AC133+Flk1+ Cells Does Not Identify the Most Primitive Endothelial Progenitor Cells.

Human EPCs are currently defined as a CD133 + /Flk1 + subpopulation of CD34 + cells that can be isolated from peripheral blood, bone marrow, and fetal liver (Nature Medicine, 2003). While these cells are widely considered to be EPCs and subsequently used for angiogenic therapies and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, their proliferative and clonogenic potential has not been compared to other populations of EPCs, which do not express the cell surface antigens, CD34 and AC133. Analogous to a paradigm established in the hematopoietic cell system, we recently developed a single cell clonogenic assay to reproducibly identify the following EPCs: (1) high proliferative potential - endothelial colony forming cells (HPP-ECFC), which form macroscopic colonies that form secondary and tertiary colonies upon replating, (2) low proliferative potential - endothelial colony forming cells (LPP-ECFC), which form colonies greater than 50 cells, but do not form secondary colonies upon replating, (3) endothelial cell clusters (EC-clusters) that contain less than 50 cells, and (4) mature terminally differentiated endothelial cells (EC), which do not divide (Blood, 2004). Utilizing this assay and EPCs derived from human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells, we compared the clonogenic and proliferative potential of 1,000 single CD34 + AC133 + Flk1 + and CD34 - AC133 − Flk1 + umbilical cord blood derived endothelial cells. We conducted four independent experiments. We demonstrate that a complete hierarchy of EPCs can be identified in a population of CD34 − AC133 − Flk1 + cord blood derived ECs (Table I, n=4). Remarkably, we further show that CD34 − AC133 − Flk1 + cord blood derived ECs contain more proliferative EPCs (LPP-ECFCs and HPP-ECFCs) compared to CD134 + AC133 + Flk1 + cord blood derived ECs (Table I, n=4, *p − AC133 − Flk1 + cells mature into CD34 + AC133 + Flk1 + cells. Finally, some individual single CD34 − AC133 − Flk1 + HPP-ECFCs can expand rapidly to 10 7 cells in ex vivo culture. Retroviral marking of the cell progeny derived from the single cell confirmed that they were derived from the parent cell. Thus, these studies describe the use of a clonogenic assay to identify a novel population of CD34 − AC133 − Flk1 + EPCs, and preliminary experiments demonstrate that CD34 and AC133 are not universal cell surface markers of the most primitive EPCs. Percent of 1,000 Single Cells Plated
H-Line Transparency Analysis of Microlithography for Millimeter Scale High-Aspect Ratio SU-8 Structures

This paper reports transparency characteristics of the h-line in the microlithography for the fabrication of ultra-tall SU-8 microstructures. Since the h-line (405 nm) in the lithography system has higher transparency to the SU-8 photoresist compared to that of the i-line (365 nm), the h-line is more suitable for fabrication of ultra-tall SU-8 microstructures for the expanded design capability of the microdevices. The transparency of the h-line through the SU-8 was experimentally verified as a function of film thickness and exposure time. Approximately 62% to the initial intensity of the h-line was observed at the 2.4 mm thick SU-8 film. The transparency of the SU-8 was also decreased by the exposure time. The h-line exposure to the 2.4 mm thick SU-8 film for 3500 seconds decreased the SU-8 transparency to the h-line by 17.7% due to the crosslinking of the SU-8. With the proposed exposure scheme, an array of 2-mm tall micropillar array and 1.5-mm long inclined micropillar array were successfully fabricated. Also, 7-mm tall micropillar was fabricated as a state-of-art microstructure. As an application, an array of $1000-\mu \mathrm{m}$ -tall micropillars were successfully fabricated to form a 100-turn 3-D toroid inductor. The fabricated inductor showed average inductance of 950 nH in the frequency range of 0.1 to 10 MHz.
Radar Detection Analysis through Walls

This paper explores the through-the-wall inverse scattering problem via machine learning. The reconstruction method seeks to discover the shape, location, and type of hidden objects behind simulated walls. We use RF sources and receivers placed outside the room to generate observation data with objects randomly placed inside the room.
Pancreatic cholera syndrome due to a vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-producing tumor: Further insights into the pathophysiology

This case report describes a patient with pancreatic cholera caused by a vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-producing pancreatic tumor. The case presents several unusual characteristics of this disease. The primary tumor was a mucinous adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. The serum vasoactive intestinal polypeptide level of 2400 pmol/L is the highest reported. At this vasoactive intestinal polypeptide level, the somatostatin analogue SMS 201-995 at doses up to 2 mg/24 h did not control the 21 L/24 h stool output. Fecal incontinence due to a manometrically documented hypotonic internal anal sphincter occurred. Using surgically created stomas, the segmental gastrointestinal fluid and sodium losses were shown to be greatest from the jejunum, whereas potassium losses from the colon and small intestine were equal. The cellular mechanism for the small intestinal potassium secretion is not known.
Embracing Disruption: Measuring Effectiveness of Virtual Simulations in Advanced Practice Nurse Curriculum

Abstract Changes in academia have occurred quickly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person simulation-based education has been adapted into a virtual format to meet course learning objectives. The methods and procedures leveraged to onboard faculty, staff, and graduate nurse practitioner students to virtual simulation-based education while ensuring simulation best practice standards and obtaining evaluation data using the Simulation Effectiveness Tool-Modified (SET-M) tool are described in this article.
Lessons in Innate and Allergic Immunity From Dust Mite Feces and Tick Bites

Allergic diseases represent a major cause of morbidity in modern industrialized and developing countries. The origins and development of allergic immune responses have proven difficult to unravel and remain an important scientific objective. House dust mites (HDM) and ticks represent two important causes of allergic disease. Investigations into HDM faecal particles and tick bites have revealed insights which have and will continue to shape our understanding of allergic immunity. In the present review, focus is given to the role of innate immunity in shaping the respective responses to HDM and ticks. The HDM faecal particle represents a rich milieu of molecules that can be recognized by pathogen-recognition receptors of the innate immune system. Factors in tick saliva and/or tissue damage resultant from tick feeding are thought to activate innate immune signaling that promotes allergic pathways. Recent evidence indicates that innate sensing involves not only the direct recognition of allergenic agents/organisms, but also indirect sensing of epithelial barrier disruption. Although faecal particles from HDM and bites from ticks represent two distinct causes of sensitization, both involve a complex array of molecules that contribute to an innate response. Identification of specific molecules will inform our understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to allergic immunity, however the key may lie in the combination of molecules delivered to specific sites in the body.
Small Molecules Binding to Serpins

SMALL MOLECULES BINDING TO SERPINS By Junaid Haider Afridi, M.S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006 Dr. Umesh Desai, Associate Professor, Medicinal Chemistry Serpins are a unique breed of proteins due to their enzymatic mechanism. Two systems were closely monitored during fluorescent binding studies, the ACT-CHY along with the AT:TRY interaction. Four different conformational variants of each system were studied including the native, cleaved, latent and complex forms. Three different fluorescent dyes were used to identify the conformations including ANS, TNS, and bis-ANS. SI studies and protease assays utilizing both Suc-AAPF-pNA and L-BAPNA were instrumental in determining conformations along with gel electrophoresis studies. The hydrophobic dyes bound to the different serpins with varying KD and AFmax due to structural variations among the conformers and the complex. Both TNS and bis-ANS gave higher AFmax values than ANS. Bis-ANS gave significantly higher AFmax values for the ACT:CHY than the other conformations, while also exhibiting relatively low KD value. KD values for the bis-ANS complexes are relatively low when compared to other fluorophores. Bis-ANS is more specific for the AT system than either TNS or ANS. Bis-ANS displays a AFmax of 36 fold for the ACT:CHY complex, while TNS displays a 27 fold increase for AT:TRY system. Modulation studies using bis-ANS to alter the kinetics of latent ACT formation proved unsuccessful, suggesting that fluorescent dyes have little, if any effect on serpin variant formation.
Inflammatory Nail Disorders

Psoriasis is a condition with a strong genetic component. While only about 2% to 3% of Americans suffer from psoriasis, approximately one out of every three people who come from families with a history of psoriasis will have this condition. Nail involvement occurs in approximately 10% to 50% of patients with psoriasis. However, most patients with psoriasis of the nails have psoriasis elsewhere on their bodies, including the elbows, knees, scalp and lumbosacral area, and fewer than 10% of patients present with psoriasis of the nails only.2 As shown in Table 2, the clinical signs of psoriasis of the nails depend on the portion of the nail unit that is involved.
Reductionism in Learning and Memory

This chapter examines the successes and (at least for now) failures of reductionist approaches in dealing with the problem of learning and memory. Beginning with the work of Pavlov on classical conditioning and the theoretical work of Hebb, the paper traces the contributions made by studies on Aplysia, Drosophila and long-term potentiation in the mammalian hippocampus.
EVALUATION OF GOLD ABA BRAZE FOR JOINING HIGH TEMPERATURE ELECTROCHEMICAL DEVICE COMPONENTS

The oxidation behavior of a commercially available ceramic-to-metal braze alloy, Gold ABA, was investigated to evaluate its potential use in joining solid-state electrochemical device components. High temperature air exposure studies were performed on as-received braze alloy foils, on braze couples prepared with yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and 430 stainless steel substrates, and on brazed YSZ/430 joints. The results of our investigations demonstrate that the substrates can play an important role in determining the overall oxidation resistance of the brazed joint.
Absence of glucose transporter 4 diminishes electrical activity of mouse hearts during hypoxia

Insulin resistance, which characterizes type 2 diabetes, is associated with reduced translocation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) to the plasma membrane following insulin stimulation, and diabetic patients with insulin resistance show a higher incidence of ischaemia, arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The aim of this study was to examine whether GLUT4 deficiency leads to more severe alterations in cardiac electrical activity during cardiac stress due to hypoxia. To fulfil this aim, we compared cardiac electrical activity from cardiac-selective GLUT4-ablated (G4H-/-) mouse hearts and corresponding control (CTL) littermates. A custom-made cylindrical 'cage' electrode array measured potentials (Ves) from the epicardium of isolated, perfused mouse hearts. The normalized average of the maximal downstroke of Ves ( (|d Ves/dt(min)|na), which we previously introduced as an index of electrical activity in normal, ischaemic and hypoxic hearts, was used to assess the effects of GLUT4 deficiency on electrical activity. The |d Ves/dt(min)|na of G4H −/− and CTL hearts decreased by 75 and 47%, respectively (P < 0.05), 30 min after the onset of hypoxia. Administration of insulin attenuated decreases in values of |d Ves/dt(min)|na in G4H −/− hearts as well as in CTL hearts, during hypoxia. In general, however, G4H −/− hearts showed a severe alteration of the propagation sequence and a prolonged total activation time. Results of this study demonstrate that reduced glucose availability associated with insulin resistance and a reduction in GLUT4-mediated glucose transport impairs electrical activity during hypoxia, and may contribute to cardiac vulnerability to arrhythmias in diabetic patients.
Supplementing the DSHEA: Congress Must Invest the FDA with Greater Regulatory Authority over Nutraceutical Manufacturers by Amending the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act

This paper addresses the various deficiencies of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, or "DSHEA." In it, I argue that the DSHEA (a federal statute passed by Congress in 1994, superseding the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act as the applicable law governing the sale of nutraceutical products) gives impermissible latitude to manufacturers of dietary supplements by allowing them to sell products without establishing whether they are safe or effective. The DSHEA also allows manufacturers to employ unsubstantiated and misleading labeling claims in marketing their products. I assert that the DSHEA promotes deceptive labeling practices. I also suggest that the current regulatory regime is ineffective in assessing health risks posed by dietary supplements to the general public. I propose a way to amend the statute, by implementing a testing regime to better ensure both the safety and efficacy of supplements (comparable to, but distinguishable from and not nearly as stringent as the testing regime governing the distribution of pharmaceutical drugs). Furthermore, the paper advocates alleviating the burden the DSHEA imposes on the FDA in banning potentially dangerous supplements, by requiring courts to defer to FDA findings that a supplement is harmful (under the DSHEA, the FDA bears the burden of proof in showing that a supplement poses an "unreasonable or significant risk of harm" before removing it from the market; moreover, courts must apply de novo review to questions of law and fact in determining whether the FDA is justified in rahiazizi@berkeley.edu 2 prohibiting the sale of a supplement). Additionally, I articulate a litigation strategy (based on California statutory law) that might incentivize enactment of an amendment by Congress. Alternative medicine implicates many controversial issues. The public's obsession with dietary supplements, despite the inadequacy of evidence demonstrating their benefits, is rather disturbing. I feel the government’s lack of regulation over this industry should be addressed (especially in light of the deaths linked to the herbal supplement ephedra). rahiazizi@berkeley.edu 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS
How to embed an international policy into the political context of the UK and Europe with reference to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity Global Strategy for Plant Conservation

Plant Diversity Challenge is the UK framework for implementing the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation; it was developed by a network of nongovernmental and governmental organizations and recognized at government level by all the devolved administrations in the UK. The European Strategy for Plant Conservation is an equivalent framework in Europe, but has not achieved recognition as a contribution to biodiversity conservation and environmental protection within the European Union, despite similar support from botanical and conservation communities. Both frameworks have faced positive and negative challenges to their implementation, which reflect the range of interests and capacity of the organizations driving the delivery of their targets. Embedding these frameworks within the appropriate policy context at the country or regional level will require the ‘driving’ organizations and associated networks across the whole (plant) conservation community to unite and become more effective at policy level. This is required to ensure the development and promotion of better targeted evidence that responds to the needs of the wider biodiversity agenda, particularly in the realm of agriculture and forestry policy. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 166, 261–266.
Pastoral conflict in Kenya: Transforming mimetic violence to mimetic blessings between Turkana and Pokot communities

Livestock raiding has been a source of conflict amongst and between pastoral societies in Africa for hundreds of years. However, more recently, these raids have become more violent and have triggered much more organised retaliations. Many times raids themselves are perceived as motivated by ethnic dimensions. The following paper looks at tensions and conflict between Turkana and Pokot communities in rural Kenya. The paper first traces the historical context of cattle rustling and livestock raiding between pastoral communities within Kenya. It then identifies contemporary factors driving exacerbated tensions: access to resources, profiteering, and weapons proliferation. The paper further explores the systemic nature of the conflict through analysing livestock raiding as a conflict spiral dictated by negative reciprocal actions. The spiral is ultimately maintained due to mimetic violence structures that are in place. It then offers prescriptions and potential solutions to the conflict, which are centred on transcending the relationship from mimetic violence to mimetic peace and reconciliation. Ultimately, by empowering local pastoral communities in the form of multi-ethnic coalitions, and promoting broad-based interest groups, cultural transcendence can reverse the conflict spiral into a relationship of mutual reciprocity and mimetic peace.
Mus musculus (Mouse)

The individual elements cannot be distinguished; however, by radioautography Galton and Holt were able to identify X and Y as shown (karyotypes kindly provided by Dr. M. Galton, Hanover, New Hampshire. Preparations shown are from G57BL/10J mouse embryos).
Three-dimensional tongue surfaces from ultrasound images

This paper presents 3D tongue surfaces reconstructed from sixty cross-sectional slices of the tongue. Surfaces were reconstructed for sustained vocalizations of 18 American English sounds. Electropalatography (EPG) data also were collected for the sounds to compare tongue surface shape with tongue-palate contact patterns. The ultrasound data were grouped into four tongue shape categories. These classes were front raising, complete channel, back raising, two-point displacement. The first three categories contained both vowels and consonants, the last only consonants. The EPG data indicated three categories of tongue-palate contact: bilateral, cross-sectional, combination of the two. Vowels used only the first pattern, consonants used all three. The EPG data provided an observably distinction in contact pattern between consonants and vowels. The ultrasound tongue surface data did not. The conclusion was that the tongue actually has a limited repertoire of shapes, and positions them against the palate in different ways for consonants vs. vowels to create narrow channels, divert airflow and produce sound.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Microglial-neuronal interactions in synaptic damage and recovery

An understanding of the role of microglial cells in synaptic signaling is still elusive, but the neuron-microglia relationship may have important ramifications for brain plasticity and injury. This review summarizes current knowledge and theories concerning microglial-neuronal signaling, both in terms of neuron-to-microglia signals that cause activation and microglia-to-neuron signals that affect neuronal response to injury. Microglial activation in the brain involves a stereotypical pattern of changes including proliferation and migration to sites of neuronal activity or injury, increased or de novo expression of immunomodulators including cytokines and growth factors, and the full transformation into brain-resident phagocytes capable of clearing damaged cells and debris. The factors released from neurons that elicit such phenotypical and functional alterations are not well known but may include cytokines, oxidized lipids, and/or neurotransmitters. Once activated, microglia can promote neuronal injury through the release of low-molecular-weight neurotoxins and support neuronal recovery through the release of growth factors and the isolation/removal of damaged neurons and myelin debris. Because microglia respond quickly to neuronal damage and have robust effects on neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, microglial cells could play potentially key roles in orchestrating the multicell cascade that follows synaptic plasticity and damage.
Studies on Some Physical Properties of Bovine Skeletal Muscle

SUMMARY: The physical properties of the major muscles of the round from 30 crossbred beef and 20 straightbred dairy carcasses were studied. Sex, sire and body type were related to these properties. Generally, the steers had longer, heavier and lighter-colored muscles than the heifers. A negative relationship was noted between the specific gravity and reflectance values for the crossbred muscles. The semimembranosus muscle was heaviest and accounted for the highest percent of the rough round in certain beef and dairy sire groups. In the dairy cattle, the weight of the biceps femoris muscle was also affected by sire. Heritability estimates indicated that the weight of the semimembranosus was highly heritable and its percent of the rough round moderately heritable in both beef and dairy cattle. The dairy b. femoris weight and circumference were also moderately heritable. Color reflectance, specific gravity, pH, length and circumference/length ratio were not observed to be heritable physical properties.
Comparison of Canine Cardiac Troponin I Concentrations as Determined by 3 Analyzers

Background:Recent interest in cardiac biomarkers has led to the validation of several commercial analyzers for cardiac troponin I (cTnI) evaluation in dogs; however, these analyzers have not been standardized. Hypothesis:It was hypothesized that canine plasma cTnI concentrations as determined by 3 different analyzers would be similar. Animals:Twenty-three dogs with cardiac disease were studied. Methods:Reconstituted purified canine free cTnI was diluted with canine plasma to 8 concentrations (0.01, 0.1, 0.78, 1.56, 3.13, 6.25, 12.5, and 25 ng/mL), for analysis by 3 analyzers, the Biosite Triage Meter, the Dade-Behring Stratus, and the Beckman-Coulter Access AccuTnI Plasma samples from 23 dogs with cardiac disease were also analyzed for cTnI concentrations on all analyzers. Results:Troponin I concentrations in sick dogs were <0.05–5.72 ng/mL (Biosite), 0.02–11.1 ng/mL (Access), and 0.02–9.73 ng/mL (Stratus). Analyzer results were highly correlated with each other (r= 0.97 to 1.0 for purified dilutions, r= 0.61 to 0.89 for samples from dogs); however, the limits of agreement were wide for both purified dilutions and clinical samples. Recovery was highest for the Access (334–1467%) and lowest for the Biosite (38–60%); Stratus 52–233%. Analyzer variability was lowest for the Access (1.2–10.4%) and highest for the Stratus (4.8–33.6%); Biosite 2.8–16.5%. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Results from this study suggest that although canine cTnI values obtained from the Biosite, Stratus, and Access analyzers are closely correlated, they cannot be directly compared with each other. In the absence of a gold standard none of the analyzers can be considered more correct than the others.
Analytical and experimental determination of the material intrinsic length scale of strain gradient plasticity theory from micro- and nano-indentation experiments

Abstract The enhanced gradient plasticity theories formulate a constitutive framework on the continuum level that is used to bridge the gap between the micromechanical plasticity and the classical continuum plasticity. They are successful in explaining the size effects encountered in many micro- and nano-advanced technologies due to the incorporation of an intrinsic material length parameter into the constitutive modeling. However, the full utility of the gradient-type theories hinges on one's ability to determine the intrinsic material length that scales with strain gradients, and this study aims at addressing and remedying this situation. Based on the Taylor's hardening law, a micromechanical model that assesses a nonlinear coupling between the statistically stored dislocations (SSDs) and geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) is used here in order to derive an analytical form for the deformation-gradient-related intrinsic length-scale parameter in terms of measurable microstructural physical parameters. This work also presents a method for identifying the length-scale parameter from micro- and nano-indentation experiments using both spherical and pyramidal indenters. The deviation of the Nix and Gao [Mech. Phys. Solids 46 (1998) 411] and Swadener et al. [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 50 (2002) 681; Scr. Mater. 47 (2002) 343] indentation size effect (ISE) models’ predictions from hardness results at small depths for the case of conical indenters and at small diameters for the case of spherical indenters, respectively, is largely corrected by incorporating an interaction coefficient that compensates for the proper coupling between the SSDs and GNDs during indentation. Experimental results are also presented which show that the ISE for pyramidal and spherical indenters can be correlated successfully by using the proposed model.
Triplex Targets in the Human Rhodopsin Gene

We have explored the application of triplex technology to the human rhodopsin gene, which encodes a G-protein-linked receptor involved in the genetic disorder autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (ADRP). Our results support the hypothesis that most human genes contain high-affinity triplex sites and further refine the rules governing identification and successful targeting of triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) to these sites. Using a computer search for sites 15 nucleotides in length and greater than 80% purine, we found 143 distinct sites in the rhodopsin gene and comparable numbers of sites in several other human genes. By applying more stringent criteria, we selected 17 potential target sites in the rhodopsin gene, screened them with a plasmid binding assay, and found 8 that bound TFOs with submicromolar affinity (Kd = 10-9−10-7 M). We compared purine (GA) and mixed (GT) TFOs at each site, and found that GA-TFOs consistently bound with higher affinity, and were less sensitive to pyrimidine inte...
The Cargo-Binding Domain of Transportin 3 Is Required for Lentivirus Nuclear Import

ABSTRACT Lentiviruses, unlike the gammaretroviruses, are able to infect nondividing cells by transiting through nuclear pores to access the host genomic DNA. Several nuclear import and nuclear pore components have been implicated as playing a role in nuclear import, including transportin 3 (TNPO3), a member of the importin-β family of nuclear import proteins. We demonstrated that TNPO3 was required by several lentiviruses, with simian immunodeficiency virus mac239 (SIVmac239) and equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) the most dependent and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) the least. Analysis of HIV-1/SIVmac239 chimeric viruses showed that dependence on TNPO3 mapped to the SIVmac239 capsid. Mutation of a single amino acid, A76V in the SIVmac239 capsid, rendered the virus TNPO3 independent and resistant to mCPSF6-358, a truncated splicing factor that prevents HIV-1 nuclear import. Using a complementation assay based on 293T cells that express a TNPO3-targeted short hairpin RNA (shRNA), we showed that the Drosophila TNPO3 homologue can substitute for its human counterpart and that it mapped a key functional domain of TNPO3 to the carboxy-terminal cargo-binding domain. Within the cargo-binding domain, two hydrophobic motifs were required for TNPO3-dependent infection. The mutated TNPO3 proteins maintained their ability to localize to the nucleus, suggesting that their inability to restore lentivirus infection resulted from an inability to bind to a host or viral cargo protein.
The incidence of tracheoarterial fistula in patients with chronic tracheostomy tubes: a retrospective study of 544 patients in a long-term care facility.

Objective: The incidence of tracheoarterial fistula (TAF) in patients with short-term tracheostomy tubes has been reported between 0.6% and 0.7%. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of TAF in patients with long-term tracheostomy tubes used for the management of chronic respiratory failure. Setting: Long-term ventilator facility. Design: Retrospective. Methods: Medical records of 544 patients admitted to our institution between January 1981 and December 2002 were reviewed. All patients underwent tracheostomy prior to admission to our facility. Patient age, length of stay (LOS), duration of tracheostomy, and serum albumin levels were compared between patients with and without TAF; p values were obtained using the Student unpaired t test for equal variances. Results: TAF was diagnosed in five patients. The incidence of TAF in our population was 0.7%. The average age of these patients was significantly less than the study population (31.20 years vs 68.27 years). When one patient outlier was eliminated, LOS was not significant. Conclusion: TAF is an uncommon complication of tracheostomy tubes. The incidence of TAF in patients with long-term tracheostomy tubes is similar to that reported in short-term tracheostomy tubes.
Organophosphorus Ester-Induced Chronic Neurotoxicity

Organophosphorus compounds are potent neurotoxic chemicals that are widely used in medicine, industry, and agriculture. The neurotoxicity of these chemicals has been documented in accidental human poisoning, epidemiological studies, and animal models. Organophosphorus compounds have 3 distinct neurotoxic actions. The primary action is the irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase, resulting in the accumulation of acetylcholine and subsequent overstimulation of the nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, resulting in cholinergic effects. Another action of some of these compounds, arising from single or repeated exposure, is a delayed onset of ataxia, accompanied by a Wallerian-type degeneration of the axon and myelin in the most distal portion of the longest tracts in both the central and peripheral nervous systems, and is known as organophosphorus ester-induced delayed neurotoxicity (OPIDN). In addition, since the introduction and extensive use of synthetic organophosphorus compounds in agriculture and industry half a century ago, many studies have reported long-term, persistent, chronic neurotoxicity symptoms in individuals as a result of acute exposure to high doses that cause acute cholinergic toxicity, or from long-term, low-level, subclinical doses of these chemicals. The author attempts to define the neuronal disorder that results from organophosphorus ester-induced chronic neurotoxicity (OPICN), which leads to long-term neurological and neurobehavioral deficits. Although the mechanisms of this neurodegenerative disorder have yet to be established, the sparse available data suggest that large toxic doses of organophosphorus compounds cause acute necrotic neuronal cell death in the brain, whereas sublethal or subclinical doses produce apoptotic neuronal cell death and involve oxidative stress.
CLUSTR: A program for structuring design problems

CLUSTR is a computer program which assists the designer in finding the structure inherent in his design problem. The designer supplies the list of elements which define the design problem, and then decides which of these elements are related. The computer decomposes the problem into subsets in which each element is related to every other element. In theory each of these subsets represents the smallest “structural” component of the problem: a coherent functional or behavioral sub-system. The most closely related subsets are then combined into larger clusters. This process continues until all clusters have been recombined. The computer then draws a diagram to show how these subsets are combined to form the final problem structure. The computer also identifies the dominant elements at each node in the structure to assist the designer in finding the solutions to each sub-problem.
From Strategic Plan to Sustainable Program: One College's Journey

Westmoreland County Community College focused on enhancing success for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students testing into two or more developmental courses. The project progressed from a planning objective, to a program on a sliding-scale budget, to becoming sustainable in five years. Results include improved retention and enhanced data collection and usage.
Comprehensive Diagnosis of Complex Electrical Power Distribution Systems

Abstract Electrical power distribution systems are composed of heterogeneous components, which include continuous power sources, discrete relays, passive and active loads, and fast-switching power conversion subsystems. This heterogeneity introduces significant challenges for model-based diagnosis, such as building accurate models, and generating fast and accurate diagnoses while ensuring robustness to measurement noise and modeling errors. In this paper, we present a comprehensive methodology for the diagnosis of parametric and discrete faults in electrical power distribution systems that include dc and ac components. We use a hybrid bond graph modeling language to systematically develop computational models and algorithms for hybrid state estimation, robust fault detection, and efficient fault isolation. Simulation and experimental results on a real-world electrical power distribution system demonstrate the effectiveness of our methodology.
X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (1–400 Å) spectroscopy of the sun, from OSO-III

X-ray spectra of the sun have been obtained during solar flares. New emission lines are observed in the spectral range from 1.3 A to 3 A, and 8 A–20 A, the most intense of the new emission features being tentatively attributed to optical transitions in high stages of ionization of iron (Fexxv through Fexx). Studies of the variability of these lines during flares provide new information of the development of a hot plasma in the initial stages of the flare event.
Binary segmentation for matrix and vector operations

Abstract We substantially decrease the storage space and arithmetic time of computations with matrices and vectors filled with zeros and ones or with “short” bounded integers, by using a general technique of binary segmentation.
Spectroscopy of Rydberg atoms in a non-neutral cold plasma

Summary form only given. Highly excited Rydberg atoms are very sensitive to static and AC electric and magnetic fields, and can be used for spectroscopic detection and compensation of such fields. We report the use of Rydberg atom spectroscopy to determine the electric field in millimeter-sized, strongly coupled plasmas that are generated by laser excitation of laser-cooled clouds of atoms.
Programmable multi-tap microwave photonic phase filtering via optical frequency comb shaping

We present a programmable multi-tap microwave photonic phase filter operating over an ultra-wide bandwidth. Complex programmability of >30 taps is achieved by optical line-by-line pulse shaping on a 10 GHz Gaussian optical frequency comb using a novel interferometric scheme. Through high-speed real-time measurements, we show programmable chirp control in the range ±0.6GHz ns.
Ethics committees in the rural Midwest: exploring the impact of HIPAA.

Context Confidentiality of personal health information is an ethical principle and a legislated mandate; however, the impact of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on ethics committees ethics committees is limited. Purpose This study investigates the prevalence, activity, and composition of ethics committees located in rural central and southern Illinois. Additionally, the impact of the HIPAA Officer serving on the committee is reported. Methods Surveys were mailed to the "Administrator or Ethics Committee Chairperson" at rural Illinois hospitals and skilled care facilities. Survey items included committee composition and perception of HIPAA-related involvement. Findings Over one third (36.7%) of the facilities reported having formal ethics committees. Hospitals were more likely (79.3%) to have ethics committees than skilled nursing facilities (20.7%). Ethics committee members usually include an administrator, nurse, and physician. The smaller the facility (based on number of beds), the more likely it was to have a HIPAA Officer on the committee. Committees with a HIPAA Officer were more likely to be involved in monitoring and/or remediation of HIPAA privacy and security violations. Most respondents, however, did not feel the committee should be involved in these issues. Conclusions Although the sample size is too small to generalize, HIPAA does seem to have an effect on the issues discussed by ethics committees. Furthermore, ethics committees that include a HIPAA Officer in the membership report increased committee involvement in HIPAA related issues.
Dyslipidemia and lipid management in HIV-infected patients.

Purpose of review Dyslipidemia is highly prevalent among patients living with chronic HIV infection and may confer increased risk of cardiovascular disease in this patient population. This review summarizes recent data investigating lipid abnormalities and its management in HIV-infected patients. Recent findings Studies in the last year have evaluated the effects of various lipid-lowering therapies not previously investigated in the HIV patient population. Rosuvastatin is a potent statin that appears to be well tolerated and effective in HIV-infected patients with hypercholesterolemia. Summary Dyslipidemia is common in HIV-infected individuals. Medical therapy of lipid disorders needs to take potential drug-drug interactions of lipid-lowering medications and antiretroviral agents into consideration.
The "Token" Minority: An Attitudinal Comparison of Black, Oriental and Anglo Rural Youth Utilizing a Matched-Set Analysis

Attitudes of "token" numbers of black and Oriental youths embedded in a large sample survey of Wyoming junior and senior high school students are compared to those of Anglo youth utilizing an approach developed by Mantel and Haenszel (1959) and Mantel (1963). This "matched-set analysis" offers a method by which categorical responses of rare or small classes of respondents in large samples may be compared to those of larger respondent subgroups while controlling for extraneous variation due to covariates. Our results suggest that black Wyoming youth hold relatively negative attitudes toward school, community, and local criminal justice system. Negative attitudes toward certain aspects of American society may be common among blacks regardless of the size or density of the black community involved.
Membrane curvature response in autophagy

Membrane trafficking is key for signal transduction, cargo transportation, and in the case of autophagy, delivering cytoplasmic substrates to the lysosome for degradation. Autophagy requires the formation of a unique double membrane vesicle, the autophagosome. However, the mechanism by which the autophagosome forms is unknown. Our recent study focused on the role of Barkor/Atg14(L) in targeting the autophagy-specific class III phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PtdIns3KC3) complex to the early autophagosome has implicated this complex in autophagosome formation. This study found that the BATS domain of Barkor targets the PtdIns3KC3 complex to early autophagic structures and senses highly curved membranes enriched in phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate (PtdIns(3)P). Consequently, this study uncovered an exciting new role for the PtdIns3KC3 complex as a potential inducer of autophagosome formation.
Social Unionism in Western New York: The Case of the Economic Development Group

Labor-community engagement—often called social unionism—has a long history, but it and academic attention to it have been growing since 1980. This article examines one manifestation in western New ...