cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chronic rhinosinusitis precipitated by tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors is the phenotype of chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps.

BACKGROUND Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a frequently observed condition in patients with immunodeficiency secondary to tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (TNFαis). The histologic features of CRS caused by TNFαis have yet to be determined and may have important implications in understanding the pathophysiology of the disease process. METHODS A structured histopathology report was used to analyze sinus tissue removed during functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). These structured histopathology variables were compared among patients with CRS on TNFαi (CRSαi), CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) patients, and CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) patients. RESULTS Eighteen CRSαi, 91 CRSwNP, and 113 CRSsNP patients undergoing FESS were analyzed. Compared to CRSsNP, CRSαi patients exhibited increased mucosal ulceration (16.7% vs 0.9%, p < 0.008), increased fibrosis (100% vs 34.5%, p < 0.001), and increased presence of Charcot-Leiden crystals (16.7% vs 0%, p < 0.002). Compared to CRSwNP, CRSαi patients demonstrated increased fibrosis (100% vs 54.9%, p < 0.001), decreased presence of subepithelial edema (44.4% vs 69.2% p < 0.043), decreased eosinophil aggregates (22.2% vs 47.3% p < 0.042), and fewer eosinophils per high-power field (44.4% vs 73.6%, p < 0.017). CONCLUSION CRSαi exhibits structured histopathology more similar to CRSsNP. In the appropriate clinical context, it may be reasonable that the medical regimen for these patients be focused on a more antineutrophilic, macrolide-based approach. This study provides insight into the inflammatory environment of patients with CRSαi and may have implications for disease management.
Self-aligned on-chip coupled photonic devices using individual cadmium sulfide nanobelts

Nanowires (NWs) and nanobelts (NBs) have been widely studied and fabricated into a variety of nanoscale devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers and biosensors. These unique materials have attracted sustained attention due to their novel properties, ease of growth, and the ability to fabricate highly engineered devices. However, their widespread application remains hindered due to the difficulty in integrating multiple NWs or NBs together for more complex devices. Integration of multiple NWs and NBs together on the same chip can enable the coupling of different devices to help realize complex on-chip architectures such as photonic integrated circuits or nanoscale diagnostic tools, which currently require outcoupling using larger components. In this letter we report the coupling of on-chip NB LEDs and photodetectors using a single, precisely self-aligned, cadmium sulfide (CdS) NB fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. Electroluminescence generated by the CdS NB is waveguided and measured across the self-aligned device and demonstrates an on/off ratio of 102–103. This work describes a new method for fabricating and integrating more complex nanoscale devices that can enable advances in areas such as on-chip optical computational components and nanoscale optical biodiagnostics.
Gradients of functional organization in posterior parietal cortex revealed by visual attention, visual short-term memory, and intrinsic functional connectivity.

Abstract Visual attention and visual working memory tasks recruit a common network of lateral frontal cortical (LFC) and posterior parietal cortical (PPC) regions. Here, we examine finer-scale organization of this frontoparietal network. Three LFC regions recruited by visual cognition tasks, superior precentral sulcus (sPCS), inferior precentral sulcus (iPCS), and mid inferior frontal sulcus (midIFS) exhibit differential patterns of resting-state functional connectivity to PPC. A broad dorsomedial to ventrolateral gradient is observed, with sPCS connectivity dominating in the dorsomedial PPC band, iPCS dominating in the middle band, and midIFS dominating in the ventrolateral band. These connectivity-defined subregions of PPC capture differential task activation between a pair of visual attention and working memory tasks. The relative functional connectivity of sPCS and iPCS also varies along the rostral-caudal axis of the retinotopic regions of PPC. iPCS connectivity is relatively stronger near the IPS0/IPS1 and IPS2/IPS3 borders, especially on the lateral portions of these borders, which each preferentially encode central visual field representations. In contrast, sPCS connectivity is relatively stronger elsewhere in retinotopic IPS regions which preferentially encode peripheral visual field representations. These findings reveal fine-scale gradients in functional connectivity within the frontoparietal visual network that capture a high-degree of specificity in PPC functional organization.
Hand hygiene compliance checking system with explainable feedback

Hand-washing has several components that have to be performed in a temporally aligned sequence as recommended by WHO/CDC. In this paper, we propose an armband based hand wash compliance checking mechanism that can identify if a component of the WHO/CDC recommendations are missing. Appropriate alert mechanism can then inform the user to redo the missing components. Tests on data collected from 20 subjects, show a 10 fold user-independent accuracy of detecting compliant hand washing at 88\%, precision 0.89 and recall 0.85. The mechanism can identify missing components in around 350 out of 500 non-compliant hand wash routines.
Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage associated with ustekinumab treatment.

PURPOSE: A case of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) occurring as a reaction to ustekinumab therapy is reported. SUMMARY: After starting ustekinumab for treatment of psoriatric arthritis, a 46-year-old female presented with flu-like symptoms and cough with blood-tinged sputum that had begun 1 week previously. Her initial computed tomography scan of the chest demonstrated bilateral ground-glass opacities. On bronchoscopy, the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) return became bloodier from sample 1 to samples 2 and 3. Her BAL fluid was more than 90% hemosiderin-laden macrophages, a finding consistent with DAH. We ruled out infectious etiologies and other common vasculitis conditions that can cause DAH. A diagnosis of ustekinumab-induced DAH was made due to a temporal relationship between initiation of the drug and the patient's presentation and the absence of infection and other alternate diagnosis. Prior case reports including ustekinumab-induced pneumonitis, interstitial lung disease with a granulomatous component, and lupus syndrome have been reported, with this being the first case of DAH in a patient undergoing treatment of psoriatic arthritis. CONCLUSION: A 46-year-old woman developed DAH during ustekinumab treatment. Symptoms abated after drug discontinuation and supportive treament. Clinicians must remain mindful of this rare complication of ustekinumab use in order to avoid potential delays in appropriate DAH treatment.
Cloud Computing Security Challenges and Related Defensive Measures: A Survey and Taxonomy

Existing classification systems of cloud computing security challenges have mostly excluded human error as a major root cause of cloud security issues. Therefore, we propose a new cloud security challenge classification system by adding Human Error as a category and retaining the most relevant categories—Network, Data Access, and Virtualization—from previous research. Through a literature survey, we identified effective defensive measures that are used by experts to combat these security challenges and we provided a mapping of the challenges to their defensive measures. Our findings reveal that there is, indeed, a case for human error to be included as a category in the classification of the security challenges encountered in cloud computing, and if cloud service providers (CSPs) and their customers are fully informed on the security challenges encountered in the cloud, both parties can fully benefit from the advantages this model of computing offers.
Impact of Augmented Reality on Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention

The present study investigated the impact teaching academic vocabulary through an augmented reality (AR) approach had on acquisition and retention as compared to using a more traditional flash card based approach. 29 high school students ranging from 9th to 11th grade followed the pattern of a 10 word vocabulary pre-test, being taught those words through respective alternating AR and traditional vocabulary methods, and post-tested one week from the date of teaching. At the end of the testing and teaching process, the unit scores were compared to find if any differences occurred. Analysis revealed that there is a significant difference between the two teaching methods. Participants scored better in the AR unit as compared to the traditional unit. Furthermore, participants also reported greater satisfaction with the AR method because it held their attention, gave them something to focus on, and was overall more engaging. Comparatively, participants found the traditional method not engaging, however, they were comfortable with the traditional method because it is what they are comfortable with in the classroom. Given the curiosity of using AR in the classroom, more research could be conducted to find patterns in participant performance across all academic content areas as well as other uses for AR in the classroom.
Low numbers of Covid-19 related infereted individuals in regions having wind resources and energy: A case study

Abstract. This paper investigates the relation between diffusion of COVID-19 and wind resources to provide insights on how sustainable policies for energy production can improve ecosystem, reduce environmental pollution, improve public health and prevent future epidemics. Results reveal that cities in regions with high wind energy production have a lower number of infected individuals of COVID-19, whereas polluted cities with less clean production and low production of energy from sustainable resources (i.e., wind) have higher numbers of infected individuals and deaths. These findings underscore the importance of sustainable energy production to support an ecosystem that protects human health and reduces the associated social welfare loss because of the COVID-19 pandemic and future similar infectious diseases. Keywords. COVID-19, Coronavirus, Wind Energy, Wind power plant, Clean energy, Climate, environmental sustainability, sustainable development, Environmental pollution. JEL. F21, F68, O53, K23 .
Lysosome-related organelles contain an expansion compartment that mediates delivery of zinc transporters to promote homeostasis

Lysosome-related organelles play evolutionarily conserved roles in zinc storage, but mechanisms that control zinc flow in and out are not well understood. In C. elegans intestinal cells, the CDF-2 transporter stores zinc in these organelles during excess. Here we identify ZIPT-2.3 as the transporter that releases zinc during deficiency. The expression levels of CDF-2 and ZIPT-2.3 are reciprocally regulated in zinc excess and deficiency, establishing a fundamental mechanism of homeostasis. Super-resolution microscopy demonstrated these organelles are composed of a spherical acidified compartment and a hemispherical expansion compartment. The expansion compartment inflates during zinc excess and deficiency by vesicle fusion delivering zinc transporters. These results identify an unexpected structural feature of lysosome-related organelles that facilitates rapid transitions in the composition of zinc transporters to mediate homeostasis.
II Nonlinear Optics of Liquid Crystals

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the nonlinear optics of the liquid crystals. The mechanisms for optically induced refractive index change in the nematic phase of liquid crystals, and related nonlinear optical processes such as optical wave mixings, self-focusing, and bistabilities are discussed. Liquid crystals are composed of large organic molecules with a typical chemical structure. As a result of intermolecular forces, the molecules tend to align themselves in some fixed direction. Most liquid crystal molecules are uniaxial, centrosymmetrical and nonpolar, although there is a class of liquid crystals that is ferroelectric and possesses large permanent dipole moments. The chapter focuses on selected nonlinear processes in which the extraordinarily large nonlinearity of liquid crystals has shed new light on the fundamental understanding of them, on processes that are on the threshold of being applicable to practical devices, and on special processes that can be obtained only with highly nonlinear materials.
Reinterpreting the fossil pollen record of Holocene tree migration

The potential of plant and animal populations to spread over the landscape must be better understood in order to predict biotic responses to Global Change. The fossil record has potential for providing a record of indigenous species as they have shifted ranges in response to past changes of climate (Davis 1976, 1981; Huntley & Birks 1983; Prentice et al. 1991). Our purpose in this paper is to examine whether fossil pollen can provide a clear record of range shifts. We use a model of pollen dispersal to ask how the sizes and locations of lakes affect the way fossil pollen records an approaching population. Can small populations established in advance of the species front be detected? Do changes in pollen deposition give accurate estimates of the intrinsic growth rate of populations of invading species? We are using a simulation model, POLLSCAPE (Sugita 1994), that simulates heterogeneous vegetation on a landscape and calculates pollen dispersal to lakes. The results of the experiments provide guidelines for interpretation of fossil pollen records, and suggest how future studies can be designed to maximize information on past range shifts in response to changing climate.
The rural non-farm economy, livelihood strategies and household welfare

This paper examines the relationship between rural non-farm employment and household welfare using nationally representative data from Madagascar. It focuses on labor outcomes in the context of household livelihood strategies that include farm and non-farm income earning opportunities. It identifies distinct household livelihood strategies that can be ordered in welfare terms, and estimates multinomial logit models to assess the extent of the barriers to choosing dominant strategies. It finds that high-return non-farm activities provide an important pathway out of poverty, but that barriers such as lack of (a) education, (b) formal credit and (c) access to telecommunications restrict participation in such activities. Individual employment choice models and estimates of earnings functions provide supporting evidence of these barriers. Although the poverty reduction effects may be limited, low-return non-farm activities also play an important role as safety nets by providing opportunities for ex ante risk reduction and ex post coping with shocks.
Context and Current and Future Activities of the Society of Clinical Psychology

Several themes and activities of the Society of Clinical Psychology (Division 12 of APA) are discussed: a seemingly inexorable trend towards more and more specialization, posing a challenge to the very identity of clinical psychology; the importance of broad and general education in core content areas, especially in the science of psychology; continuing education; a newly established committee on diversity to help promote and support the inclusion of diversity variables in both the scientific and political activities of the Society; and the Evidence-Based Practices in Psychology report, recently adopted by the Council of Representatives as the basis of APA policy.
Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance-The California Program

Current California law requires the implementationn of a mandatory annual vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance program in the South Coast Air basin by 1978. The pilot phase of this inspection program is now in operation in the City of Riverside. This paper evaluates the Riverside program and an alternate program for their abilities to detect gross emitters and provide cost/effective emissions reductions. A surveillance program was conducted to evaluate the Riverside loaded-mode inspection regime and an alternate idle inspection regime. Emissions and fuel economy tests indicated that there was no significant difference between the two regimes. Each regime resulted in immediate reductions on repaired vehicles of 35-40% in hydrocarbon emissions and 30-35% in carbon monoxide emissions, with no significant change in oxides of nitrogen emissions. There was a small (1-4%) improvement in fuel economy, and the average repair cost was $20-25. The more sophisticated diagnostic and repair procedures associated with the loaded-mode inspection regime did not result in improved performance of repairs when compared to the simpler and less expensive idle inspection regime. However, with average inspection costs of about $5 per car for the loaded regime and $4 per car for the idle regime, both approaches provided cost/effective reductions in hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions. Other studies indicate that similar reductions are possible on catalyst-equipped vehicles, and that the loaded-mode inspection program has the potential to provide significant reductions in NOx emissions on late model vehicles. /Author/
Studies on cobalt myoglobins and hemoglobins: XI. The interaction of carbon monoxide and oxygen with α and β subunits in iron-cobalt hybrid hemoglobins☆☆☆

Abstract An artificial hybrid hemoglobin, α(Co)2β(Fe)2, the α and β subunits of which carry cobaltous protoporphyrin IX and ferrous protoporphyrin IX, respectively, and its complementary hybrid α(Fe)2β(Co)2 were prepared and the properties of their ferrous subunits were examined by equilibrium and kinetic measurements with carbon monoxide as a ligand. The β(Fe)2 subunits in fully deoxy α(Co)2β(Fe)2 exhibited a higher affinity for carbon monoxide than did the α(Fe)2 subunits in fully deoxy α(Fe)2β(Co)2. Addition of 2 m m -inositol hexaphosphate decreased fourfold the carbon monoxide affinity of the α(Fe)2 subunits in α(Fe)2β(Co)2 and by more than tenfold that of the β(Fe)2 subunits in α(Co)2β(Fe)2 at pH 7.0. The higher affinity for carbon monoxide of the β(Fe)2 subunits inα(Co)2β(Fe)2 than that of the α(Fe)2 subunits in α(Fe)2β(Co)2 was caused by a smaller dissociation rate of the β(Fe)2-carbon monoxide complex. These results are considered to underlie the different affinity for carbon monoxide of the α and β subunits in deoxy hemoglobin. Oxygen equilibria of the cobaltous subunits in iron-cobalt hybrid hemoglobins were also measured in the presence of carbon monoxide. The α(Co)2 subunits in α(Co)2β(FeCO)2 showed a higher oxygen affinity than the β(Co)2 subunits in α(FeCO)2β(Co)2. Inositol hexaphosphate lowered the oxygen affinity of the β(Co)2 subunits in α(FeCO)2β(Co)2 by eight-fold, but that of the α(Co)2 subunits in α(Co)2β(FeCO)2¦by only 1.6-fold. The magnitude of the alkaline Bohr effect, as defined by Δlog P m Δ pH was found to be −0.34 and −0.14 for α(FeCO)2β(Co)2 and α(Co)2β(FeCO)2, respectively, in 0.1 m -phosphate buffer at 15 °C. The rate of oxygenation and deoxygenation of the cobaltous subunits in iron-cobalt hybrid hemoglobins in the presence of carbon monoxide was determined by a temperature-jump relaxation method in 0.1 m -phosphate buffer with and without inositol hexaphosphate. Their relaxation spectra were of a single exponential character and differed from that of cobalt hemoglobin. Without inositol hexaphosphate, the association rate constants for both α(Co)2β(FeCO)2 and α(FeCO)2β(Co)2 were close to that for cobalt hemoglobin, whereas the dissociation rate constants for iron-cobalt hybrid hemoglobins were smaller than that for cobalt hemoglobin by more than fourfold. Inositol hexaphosphate affected both the association and dissociation rates of α(FeCO)2β(Co)2 but did so to a lesser extent than those of α(Co)2β(FeCO)2. These observations suggest strongly a different role for the α and β subunits in the co-operative oxygenation and alkaline Bohr effect of hemoglobin.
Effect of infused prostaglandin F2α on hormonal levels during early pregnancy

Abstract The effect of prostaglandin F 2α on hormonal levels was analyzed in 8 patients between 11½ and 18½ weeks' gestation. A difference in hormonal patterns was detected among cases of the blighted ovum syndrome, failed abortion, and successful abortion induction. Prostaglandins appear to exert effects on placental steroidogenesis, primarily related to vascular impairment and anoxia, but a direct effect on steroidogenic pathways may exist.
Negative regulation of the 5' long terminal repeat (LTR) by the 3' LTR in the murine proviral genome.

Abstract To assess the influence of the 3' long terminal repeat (LTR) on the promoter/enhancer activity of the 5' LTR, a set of isogenic retroviral vectors differing only in the U3 region of the 3' LTR was constructed. These U3 elements were derived from viruses with different tissue tropism. The 5' LTR originated from Moloney murine leukemia virus and directed the transcription of a reporter gene (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase [CAT] gene), giving rise to plasmids of the general configuration LTR-CAT-LTR'. Following transfection of these chimeric constructs into various cell types, the CAT activity in a given cell line was inversely related to the activity of the downstream U3 region when used in a single-LTR construct in that cell type, indicating negative regulation of the 5' LTR by the chimeric 3' LTR'. Our data indicate that a highly active 3' LTR interferes with gene expression from the 5' LTR. Potential mechanisms for this down-regulation are discussed.
Spore Pool Glutamic Acid as a Metabolite in Germination

Spore glutamic acid pools were examined in dormant and germinating spores using colorimetric and (14)C analytical procedures. Germination of spores of Bacillus megaterium (parent strain), initiated by d-glucose, was accompanied by a rapid drop in the level of spore pool glutamate, from 12.0 mug/mg of dry spores to 7.7 mug/mg of dry spores after 30 sec of germination. Similar decreases in extractable spore pool glutamate were observed with l-alanine-initiated germination of B. licheniformis spores. On the other hand, glutamate pools of mutant spores of B. megaterium, with a requirement of gamma-aminobutyric acid for spore germination, remained unchanged for 9 min of germination, at which time more than 50% of the spore population had germinated. Evidence for conversion of spore pool glutamate to gamma-aminobutyric acid during germination of spores of B. megaterium (parent strain) was obtained.
Corruption and Government Satisfaction in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of China

It is generally accepted that in established democracies, citizens' perception of political corruption is corrosive of support for the government and even the regime. What is less clear is that perceived corruption has the same effect in authoritarian regimes, where democratic norms of official behavior are less relevant and there has been scant empirical study of effects of perceived corruption on satisfaction with government and its officials. Using data from a 2008 nationwide survey in China, this study explores the relationship of perceived corruption to government satisfaction in an established totalitarian regime. With nearly two thirds of respondents considering corruption a "serious problem," blame appears to be assigned more to local governments than to the central level and regime. The paper concludes with speculation that features of authoritarianism and/or of totalitarianism shield central government more than local officials from criticism when negative implications of perceived corruption come into play.
Singular Integrals Meet Modulation Invariance

Many concepts of Fourier analysis on Euclidean spaces rely on the speci­ fication of a frequency point. For example classical Littlewood Paley theory decomposes the spectrum of functions into annuii centered at the origin. In the presence of structures which are invariant under translation of the spec­ trum (modulation) these concepts need to be refined. This was first done by L. Carleson in his proof of almost everywhere convergence of Fourier series in 1966. The work of M. Lacey and the author in the 1990's on the bilinear Hilbert transform, a prototype of a modulation invariant singular integral, has revitalized the theme. It is now subject of active research which will be surveyed in the lecture. Most of the recent related work by the author is joint with C. Muscalu and T. Tao.
Vaginal hysterectomy in patients less than 36 or more than 60 years of age.

Abstract From the patients who had vaginal hysterectomy by the senior author during the 20 year period between 1945 and 1965, two series were selected: 336 patients 35 years old and younger and 588 patients 61 years old and older. The minimal risk of the operation is emphasized by the fact that only one death occurred (one of the older patients). The younger patients had a greater blood loss during and after operation (10 per cent required transfusions compared to 5 per cent of the older patients). Hematoma or late vaginal bleeding was found twice as frequently in the young group and 1.2 per cent of the younger patients required laparotomy to control retroperitoneal hemorrhages whereas none of the older patients did.
T Follicular Regulatory Cells in the Regulation of B cell Responses

High affinity antibodies result from interactions between B cells and T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in germinal centers (GCs). Recent studies have identified an effector subset of T regulatory cells termed T follicular regulatory (Tfr) cells that specifically controls GC responses by suppressing Tfh and B cells. The discovery of Tfr cells has shed new light on pathways regulating humoral immunity that enable potent and specific responses to pathogens while restricting autoimmunity. Here, we review the current understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the differentiation and function of Tfr cells. In this context we discuss recent insights into the role of Tfh cells in disease, how this knowledge may be translated therapeutically, and important areas of further research.
Determinants of the Outcomes of U.S. Senate Elections

Though House election outcomes have received much attention in recent years, comparable attention has not been paid to the Senate. We test a model of Senate seat change that includes changes in per capita real disposable income, presidential popularity, and party control of seats at stake in an election. The data consist of all Senate elections since 1920. A partial model explains 38% of the adjusted variation, and the full model almost 50%. The full model is then used to predict results for the 1986 elections over various levels of presidential popularity and changes in real disposable income.
Behavioral contrast with changes in duration and rate of reinforcement

Behavioral contrast can be defined as an inverse relation between rate of responding in one component of a multiple schedule and conditions of reinforcement in the other components. The present study was an attempt to produce contrast with changes in duration of reinforcement. Pigeons pecked a key for mixed grain delivered by a multiple variable-interval variable-interval schedule. In Experiment 1, the reinforcer duration in the second component was decreased or increased, for different subjects, by a factor of two, four, and six from that delivered during baseline. These changes usually produced contrast. In Experiment 2, rate, duration, or rate and duration of reinforcement varied in the second component. Contrast was usually observed when only one variable was manipulated. When both variables were manipulated in the same condition, but in opposite directions, responding in the constant component usually changed inversely with the change in rate of reinforcement, not the change in reinforcer duration. The results demonstrate that changes in duration of reinforcement can produce contrast. They also increase the empirical base for which a successful theoretical account of contrast must encompass and the generality of contrast, which increases its potential practical implications.
Position Finding with Empirical Prior Knowledge

Information on the position of a source of radiation is often obtained from bearing observations made from two or more known locations. Some criticisms of existing procedures are enumerated and a new approach proposed. This approach allows for the incorporation of knowledge existing before the observations are made and provides simple computational procedures for obtaining both the a posteriori density function of the source position and an estimate of this position from the observed data.
Treatment of acute postoperative ileus with octreotide

Our hypothesis was that postoperative ileus is caused by the release of neurotransmitters in the gut wall that inhibit motility. We reasoned that blocking the release with octreotide would prevent ileus. We placed serosal electrodes on the small intestine and stomachs of 15 dogs and inserted a duodenal cannula. After the animals recovered, electrical activity was recorded, and small bowel transit, colonic transit, and gastric emptying were studied radiographically and scintigraphically. Ileus was induced by celiotomy and intestinal abrasion. Dogs were randomized to receive on postoperative days 0 through 3 either a placebo (n=5), octreotide, 1.5 μg/kg/8 hr subcutaneously (n=5), or octreotide 0.83 μg/kg/hr intravenously (n=5). Both doses of octreotide resulted in a faster return to preoperative values of small bowel interdigestive myelectric activity and transit and colonic transit than did the placebo. The larger dose of octreotide, however, slowed gastric emptying. In conclusion, octreotide shortened the duration of postoperative ileus in the small bowel and colon of dogs.
An Experimental Investigation into the Effect of Cutting Fluid Conditions on the Boring of Aluminum Alloys

Boring tests were conducted on aluminum alloys to investigate the effects of cutting fluid on machining performance. Statistically designed experiments were used to examine the role of such process variables as tool geometry, cutting conditions, work material, cutting fluid presence, cutting fluid concentration, and hydraulic oil contamination of cutting fluid. Responses for the boring tests were surface texture, forces, and observed built-up edge (BUE). The results indicate that the cutting fluid presence, oil concentration, and hydraulic oil contamination do not play a significant role in process performance under the conditions tested.
A Heterologous Reporter Defines the Role of the Tetanus Toxin Interchain Disulfide in Light-Chain Translocation

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) and tetanus toxin (TeNT) are the most potent toxins for humans and elicit unique pathologies due to their ability to traffic within motor neurons. BoNTs act locally within motor neurons to elicit flaccid paralysis, while retrograde TeNT traffics to inhibitory neurons within the central nervous system (CNS) to elicit spastic paralysis. BoNT and TeNT are dichain proteins linked by an interchain disulfide bond comprised of an N-terminal catalytic light chain (LC) and a C-terminal heavy chain (HC) that encodes an LC translocation domain (HCT) and a receptor-binding domain (HCR). LC translocation is the least understood property of toxin action, but it involves low pH, proteolysis, and an intact interchain disulfide bridge. Recently, Pirazzini et al. (FEBS Lett 587:150-155, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2012.11.007) observed that inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) blocked TeNT and BoNT action in cerebellar granular neurons. In the current study, an atoxic TeNT LC translocation reporter was engineered by fusing β-lactamase to the N terminus of TeNT [βlac-TeNT(RY)] to investigate LC translocation in primary cortical neurons and Neuro-2a cells. βlac-TeNT(RY) retained the interchain disulfide bond, showed ganglioside-dependent binding to neurons, required acidification to promote βlac translocation, and was sensitive to auranofin, an inhibitor of thioredoxin reductase. Mutation of βlac-TeNT(RY) at C439S and C467S eliminated the interchain disulfide bond and inhibited βlac translocation. These data support the requirement of an intact interchain disulfide for LC translocation and imply that disulfide reduction is a prerequisite for LC delivery into the host cytosol. The data also support a model that LC translocation proceeds from the C to the N terminus. βlac-TeNT(RY) is the first reporter system to measure translocation by an AB single-chain toxin in intact cells.
Longitudinal associations among interest, persistence, supportive parenting, and achievement in early childhood

Abstract This study investigates two facets of children's school readiness: interest in new cognitive tasks (interest) and persistence in task completion (persistence). Little attention has been paid to the early development of these learning behaviors, although they might prove susceptible to intervention even before school entry. Using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, a sample of low-income children (N = 1771) was followed to model bidirectional associations among interest and persistence and maternal supportive parenting between ages 1 and 3, and estimate associations between children's interest and persistence at age 3 and their academic skills at age 5. Results indicate that maternal supportive parenting influences children's interest and persistence more strongly and consistently than interest or persistence influences parenting, and that interest but not persistence transacts with parenting over time. Interest and persistence were equally predictive of children's early academic skills. Findings affirm that both interest and persistence during toddlerhood predict children's academic standing at school entry.
Adjuvant radiation therapy after radical prostatectomy: When is it indicated?

Radical prostatectomy is the most commonly used treatment option in the United States for men with clinically localized prostate cancer. Up to 30% of these patients, particularly those with adverse pathological risk factors, will develop a biochemical recurrence within 10 years. Patients with a biochemical recurrence have a higher rate of local recurrence and cancer-specific mortality. Current accepted treatment options include salvage radiation therapy, hormone therapy, or a combination of both, depending on whether the disease recurrence is biochemical, local, or systemic. The role of adjuvant radiation therapy (ART) after prostatectomy in patients with adverse pathological risk factors prior to biochemical or clinical recurrence is unclear. Recent randomized trials have demonstrated that ART significantly improves multiple patient outcomes, including overall and cancer-specific survival, without major untoward effects. The evidence in support of using ART is evolving with the long-term follow-up of several long-term prospective trials. The decision to use ART should be based on the patient’s pathological characteristics, clinical status, side effects, and open communication between the patient and provider.
Shaping dendrites with machinery borrowed from epithelia

The ciliated receptive endings of sensory cells and the dendrites of other neurons are shaped by adhesive interactions, many of which depend on machinery also present in epithelia. Sensory cells are shaped by interactions with support cells through adhesion junctions via the Crumbs complex, tight junction components such as claudins, as well as interactions with apical extracellular matrix composed of zona pellucida domain proteins. Neuronal dendrites are shaped by adhesion machinery that includes cadherins, catenins, afadin, L1CAM, CHL1, Sidekicks, Contactin and Caspr, many of which are shared with epithelia. This review highlights this shared machinery, and suggests that mechanisms of epithelial morphogenesis may thus provide a guide to understanding dendrite morphogenesis.
Wavelength-Dependent Absorption in Structurally Tailored Randomly Branched Vertical Arrays of InSb Nanowires

Arrays of semiconductor nanowires are of potential interest for applications including photovoltaic devices and IR detectors/imagers. While nominally uniform arrays have typically been studied, arr...
Substitution of active site tyrosines with tryptophan alters the free energy for nucleotide flipping by human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase.

Human alkyladenine DNA glycosylase (AAG) locates and excises a wide variety of structurally diverse alkylated and oxidized purine lesions from DNA to initiate the base excision repair pathway. Recognition of a base lesion requires flipping of the damaged nucleotide into a relatively open active site pocket between two conserved tyrosine residues, Y127 and Y159. We have mutated each of these amino acids to tryptophan and measured the kinetic effects on the nucleotide flipping and base excision steps. The Y127W and Y159W mutant proteins have robust glycosylase activity toward DNA containing 1,N(6)-ethenoadenine (eA), within 4-fold of that of the wild-type enzyme, raising the possibility that tryptophan fluorescence could be used to probe the DNA binding and nucleotide flipping steps. Stopped-flow fluorescence was used to compare the time-dependent changes in tryptophan fluorescence and eA fluorescence. For both mutants, the tryptophan fluorescence exhibited two-step binding with essentially identical rate constants as were observed for the eA fluorescence changes. These results provide evidence that AAG forms an initial recognition complex in which the active site pocket is perturbed and the stacking of the damaged base is disrupted. Upon complete nucleotide flipping, there is further quenching of the tryptophan fluorescence with coincident quenching of the eA fluorescence. Although these mutations do not have large effects on the rate constant for excision of eA, there are dramatic effects on the rate constants for nucleotide flipping that result in 40-100-fold decreases in the flipping equilibrium relative to wild-type. Most of this effect is due to an increased rate of unflipping, but surprisingly the Y159W mutation causes a 5-fold increase in the rate constant for flipping. The large effect on the equilibrium for nucleotide flipping explains the greater deleterious effects that these mutations have on the glycosylase activity toward base lesions that are in more stable base pairs.
collapse of the Swedish myth

Is Sweden the successful example of a social democracy that it is supposed to be? Eric Brodin, of the Foundation for International Studies in North Carolina, demolishes the mythology of success and shows that socialism and the welfare state have reduced Sweden to moral and material poverty.
Locating application data across service discovery domains

The bulk of proposed pervasive computing devices such as PDAs and cellular telephones operate as thin clients within a larger infrastructure. To access services within their local environment, these devices participate in a service discovery protocol which involves a master directory that registers all services available in the local environment. These directories typically are isolated from each other. Devices that move across service discovery domains have no access to information outside their current local domain. In this paper we propose an application-level protocol called VIA that enables data sharing among discovery domains. Each directory maintains a table of active links to other directories that share related information. A set of linked directories forms a data cluster that can be queried by devices for information. The data cluster is distributed, self-organizing, responsive to data mobility, and robust to failures. Using application-defined data schemas, clusters organize themselves into a hierarchy for efficient querying and network resource usage. Through analysis and simulation we describe the behavior of VIA under different workloads and show that the protocol overhead for both maintaining a cluster and handling failures grows slowly with the number of gateways.
Yet1p–Yet3p interacts with Scs2p–Opi1p to regulate ER localization of the Opi1p repressor

Lipid sensing mechanisms at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) coordinate an array of biosynthetic pathways. A major phospholipid regulatory circuit in yeast is controlled by Scs2p, an ER membrane protein that binds the transcriptional repressor protein Opi1p. Cells grown in the absence of inositol sequester Scs2p-Opi1p at the ER and derepress target genes including INO1. We recently reported that Yet1p and Yet3p, the yeast homologues of BAP29 and BAP31, are required for normal growth in the absence of inositol. Here we show that the Yet1p-Yet3p complex acts in derepression of INO1 through physical association with Scs2p-Opi1p. Yet complex binding to Scs2p-Opi1p was enhanced by inositol starvation, although the interaction between Scs2p and Opi1p was not influenced by YET1 or YET3 deletion. Interestingly, live-cell imaging analysis indicated that Opi1p does not efficiently relocalize to the ER during inositol starvation in yet3Δ cells. Together our data demonstrate that a physical association between the Yet complex and Scs2p-Opi1p is required for proper localization of the Opi1p repressor to ER membranes and subsequent INO1 derepression.
Cytokine Secretion by γδ and αβ T cells in Monophasic Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Mononuclear cells were isolated from the central nervous system (CNS), lymph nodes (LN), spleen and blood, over the course of murine monophasic experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Individual cytokine secreting T cells were enumerated. IL-2-secreting αβ T cells were numerous at all sites at disease onset. By disease peak their numbers had fallen profoundly; they remained low thereafter. IL-2 secreting γδ T cells were rare throughout. IFN-γ-secreting cells were plentiful at all sites at disease onset. γδ T cells comprised 7% of total and 20% of IFN-γ-secreting CNS-derived cells at disease onset; values at disease peak were 12 and 40% respectively. IL-4-secreting αβ T cells were rare in the CNS and LN throughout and did not increase in the spleen from baseline values. In contrast, splenic IL-4-secreting γδ T cells had increased to four-fold baseline values at disease onset and seven-fold at disease peak. Recovery from EAE is associated with a global inhibition of IL-2-secreting αβ T cells and to a lesser extent with IFN-γ-secreting αβ and γδ T cells, whereas IL-4-secreting γδ T cells increase in the spleen as disease evolves.
On-line, real-time recording of eye orientation using the corneal reflection method

The orientation of a subject’s eyes can be automatically sampled in real time at 60 Hz using Mackworth’s corneal reflection method, a closed circuit TV system with a brightness-amplitude trigger, and a minicomputer. The organization of the electronic interface and software (for recording and behavioral control) is described, along with the characteristics of the recording system and potential sources of artifact. Sample calibration and experimental data are presented.
The role of nitric oxide synthases in the sleep responses to tumor necrosis factor-α

It is well established that cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) are involved in physiological sleep regulation, yet their downstream somnogenic mechanisms remain largely uninvestigated. Nitric oxide (NO) is an effector molecule for some TNFalpha actions. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene knockout (KO) mice sleep differently than their respective controls. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that NO mediates TNFalpha-induced sleep using iNOS and nNOS KO mice and their corresponding wild-type controls. Systemic administration of TNFalpha increased non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREMS) in the two control strains and in the iNOS KO mice during the first 4 h post-injection but failed to increase NREMS in nNOS KO mice. Rapid eye movement sleep (REMS) was suppressed by TNFalpha in nNOS controls but not in the other strains examined. The results suggest that TNFalpha affects sleep, in part, through nNOS.
The Acquisition of Epistemic Modality: From Semantic Meaning to Pragmatic Interpretation

Three experiments investigated the acquisition of English epistemic modal verbs (e.g., may, have to). Semantically, these verbs encode possibility or necessity with respect to available evidence. Pragmatically, the use of weak epistemic modals often gives rise to scalar conversational inferences (e.g., “The toy may be under the sofa” implies that it is not certain that the toy is under the sofa). Experiment 1 showed that children between the ages of 4 and 5 have mastered key aspects of epistemic modal semantics but have difficulties with contexts involving epistemic possibility. Experiment 2 showed that 4–5-year-olds prefer stronger/more informative over weaker modal statements in contrastive contexts if the stronger statements are warranted by the evidence. Experiment 3 further demonstrated that children of this age can draw pragmatic inferences from the use of weak epistemic modal verbs in contexts that do not involve overt pragmatic judgments. Taken together, these findings throw light on the acquisiti...
Effect of infant position on breath amplitude measured by transthoracic impedance and strain gauges.

Continuous monitoring of respiration by transthoracic electrical impedance gives a signal that has certain not well understood irregularities. Among them is a change in the amplitude of the signal when there is no apparent change in the infant's tidal respiration. One factor that could hypothetically account for alterations of the impedance signal is a change in current path through the thorax secondary to a change in body position. To test this hypothesis we have studied the relationships between breath amplitude measured by transthoracic impedance, one strain gauge on the chest and one on the abdomen, and tidal volume by integrated flow in four body positions. Median breath amplitude was found to vary significantly with body position according to the measuring device. The median impedance breath amplitude increased by 27% in the supine position compared with the prone position, with no associated change in tidal volume. Differences in the strain gauge signal amplitude for these positions were not statistically significant. Correlation between breath amplitude measured by impedance changes and tidal volume was minimal (r = 0.114). These results indicate that infant position affects impedance breath amplitude independently of changes in tidal volume. Pediatr Pulmonol 1991; 10:52–56.
MAPPING OF A FAMILIAL DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY GENE AND EVIDENCE FOR GENETIC HETEROGENEITY. • 204

MAPPING OF A FAMILIAL DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY GENE AND EVIDENCE FOR GENETIC HETEROGENEITY. • 204