cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Application of wavelets to electromyographic signals

(2) Conceptual MindWorks Inc.San Antonio, TXABSTRACTElectromyographic (EMG) signals are pulse based signals with the high energy componentslocated in the pulses, also called envelopes. These pulses contain information that is vital for EMGsignal analysis. In a person with a spinal cord injury, the envelopes are cluttered with noise and aredifficult to detect. In this paper, we will show that the simultaneous use of a pico filter (FatBear) andwavelets is a robust method for the detection of the signal in a cluttered environment. The FatBear1,a non-arithmetic, piecewise continuous filter, can be used as a filter for pulse width filtering, impulserejection, and edge enhancement.The FatBear will be used as a preliminary step to eliminate theimpulsive noise present in the signal. Wavelet techniques will then be applied to process the signal 2•
Centrioles in the mouse: cilia and beyond.

Centrioles, triplet microtubule structures, form the core of centrosomes, which are the dominant microtubule organizing centers of animal cells. Centrioles arise either through a canonical pathway ...
Development and Evaluation of Porous Dental Implants in Miniature Swine

Porous metallic and ceramic dental implants were designed, fabricated, and implanted into fresh and healed alveolar sites of extracted mandibular premolar teeth in miniature swine. Bone ingrowth securely anchored the implants; intraoral devices were later attached to study the effects of stress on implant stability.
A review of the Food and Drug Administration risk analysis for polychlorinated biphenyls in fish.

This paper reviews the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analysis of the risk to humans from consuming fish contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In brief, the FDA methodology employed "high" dose experiments on animals and extrapolated the observed rates of certain types of cancer at these elevated doses to the low doses found in human diets. These extrapolations were then used to define a recommended tolerance level of 5 ppm, and proposed reduction to 2 ppm, for fish sold in interstate commerce. Unfortunately, as is shown here, such a procedure is extremely sensitive to the basis for extrapolation. Important elements of the FDA analysis include the following: (i) FDA assumed a particular form of the dose-response model: the one-hit model. Many other models have been proposed and, on balance, appear equally plausible. These models estimate lower risks than does the one-hit model. (ii) FDA calculated 99% upper confidence bounds on these risks and, moreover, emphasized cases of fish eaters who consume greater amounts of PCB-contaminated fish than do 98.5% of the U.S. population. (iii) FDA based PCB ingestion computations on consumption of raw fish, whereas most fish are cooked before eating, and it is known that PCB levels in cooked fish are lower than PCB levels in raw fish. (iv) FDA based estimates of cancer risk on the assumption that PCB levels in fish would be constant over the nominal 70-year human life span used in the FDA "lifetime risk" computation. Recent data suggest that PCB levels have been declining in fish (particularly in sport fish) and humans as well. Such trends imply significantly lower cumulative lifetime PCB doses than were assumed in the FDA analysis. (v) FDA assumed that humans and test animals are equally sensitive to PCB ingestion when measured on a parts per million in diet basis. Extrapolations on an equivalent consumption per unit of body weight, thought appropriate by most researchers, result in much lower health risks. In short, when confronted with methodological choices, the FDA consistently selected "worst case" or conservative assumptions over other alternatives of at least equal plausibility. This philosophy of choice was explicitly acknowledged by the FDA. What was omitted from the FDA analysis, however, was the possible degree of overstatement of these risks. The results of replicate risk computations using alternative assumptions to examine the possible magnitude of overstatement of health risk are summarized in Table 12. As can be seen, this overstatement could easily account for a discrepancy of several orders of magnitude between actual and calculated risks.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Synergistic Effect of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor on Angiogenesis In Vivo

Background Recent studies have suggested that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) may have synergistic effects on the induction of angiogenesis in vitro. Therefore, we investigated the hypothesis that the simultaneous administration of VEGF and bFGF, each having been previously shown to independently enhance collateral development in an animal model of hind limb ischemia, could have a synergistic effect in vivo. Methods and Results Ten days after surgical induction of unilateral hind limb ischemia, New Zealand White rabbits were randomized to receive either VEGF 500 μg alone (n=6), bFGF 10 μg alone (n=7), VEGF 500 μg, immediately followed by 10 μg bFGF (n=7), or vehicle only (control animals, n=8) in each case administered intra-arterially via a catheter in the internal iliac artery of the ischemic limb. BP ratio (BPR, ischemic/healthy limb) at day 10 for the VEGF+bFGF group was 0.82±0.01, much superior (P<.0005) to that of either the VEGF group (0.52±0.02) ...
TRACE observations of the 15 November 1999 transit of Mercury and the Black Drop effect: considerations for the 2004 transit of Venus

Abstract Historically, the visual manifestation of the “Black Drop effect,” the appearance of a band linking the solar limb to the disk of a transiting planet near the point of internal tangency, had limited the accuracy of the determination of the Astronomical Unit and the scale of the Solar System in the 18th and 19th centuries. This problem was misunderstood in the case of Venus during its rare transits due to the presence of its atmosphere. We report on observations of the 15 November 1999 transit of Mercury obtained, without the degrading effects of the Earth's atmosphere, with the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer spacecraft. In spite of the telescope's location beyond the Earth's atmosphere, and the absence of a significant mercurian atmosphere, a faint Black Drop effect was detected. After calibration and removal of, or compensation for, both internal and external systematic effects, the only radially directed brightness anisotropies found resulted from the convolution of the instrumental point-spread function with the solar limb-darkened, back-lit, illumination function. We discuss these effects in light of earlier ground-based observations of transits of Mercury and of Venus (also including the effects of atmospheric “seeing”) to explain the historical basis for the Black Drop effect. The methodologies we outline here for improving upon transit imagery are applicable to ground-based (adaptive optics augmented) and space-based observations of the 8 June 2004 and 5–6 June 2012 transits of Venus, providing a path to achieving high-precision measurements at and near the instants of internal limb tangencies.
Activity and dark preference responses of albino and hooded rats receiving MSH

Abstract Albino rats preferred a dark to a dimly lit alley significantly more than did hooded rats. Injections of melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) did not change overall preference or activity levels for either strain. However, albino rats receiving MSH during the first three days spent more time in the dark than those receiving MSH during the last three days, whereas hooded rats were not affected by the order in which the hormone was given. The results caution against hormonal studies with albino rats in which light may act as an aversive stimulus. The findings suggest that MSH may intensify inherent emotional reactions to novel and aversive stimuli.
Extensive dye coupling between rat neocortical neurons during the period of circuit formation

A low molecular weight intracellular tracer, Neurobiotin, was injected into single neurons in living slices of rat neocortex made at postnatal days 5-18. Between days 5 and 12, 66% of single-neuron injections labeled clusters of up to 80 neurons surrounding the injected cell. Coupling between neurons occurred primarily through dendrites. Injections done in the presence of halothane, a gap junction blocker, abolished the spread of tracer to surrounding neurons, implying that gap junctions mediate coupling. Injections done after day 16 resulted in little or no dye coupling. We conclude that transient local coupling via gap junctions in developing cortex may provide a pathway for communicating intercellular signals, including subthreshold electrical activity, and thereby enable temporal coordination of local neuronal ensembles during circuit formation.
MicroRNA‐205–directed transcriptional activation of tumor suppressor genes in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate the expression of approximately 60% of all human genes. They play important roles in numerous cellular processes, including development, proliferation, and apoptosis. Currently, it is believed that miRNAs elicit their effect by silencing the expression of target genes. In this study, the authors demonstrated that miRNA-205 (miR-205) induced the expression the interleukin (IL) tumor suppressor genes IL24 and IL32 by targeting specific sites in their promoters. METHODS: The methods used in this study included transfection of small RNAs; quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction; in situ hybridization; fluorescence-labeled in situ hybridization; cell cycle, apoptosis, cell viability, migratory, clonability, and invasion assays; immunoblotting; and luciferase reporter, nuclear run-on, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. RESULTS: The results revealed that miR-205 was silenced in prostate cancer. Its re-expression induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. It also impaired cell growth, migration, clonability, and invasiveness of prostate cancer cells. Micro-RNA-205 induced the expression of tumor suppressor genes IL24 and IL32 at both the messenger RNA and protein levels. The induction of in vitro transcription and enrichment of markers for transcriptionally active promoters in the IL24 and IL32 genes was observed in response to miR-205. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a new function for miR-205 was identified that specifically activated tumor suppressor genes by targeting specific sites in their promoters. These results corroborate a newly identified function that miRNAs have in regulating gene expression at the transcriptional level. The specific activation of tumor suppressor genes (eg, IL24, IL32) or other dysregulated genes by miRNA may contribute to a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of prostate cancer. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Flow cytometric analysis of growth of two Streptococcus gordonii derivatives

Two Streptococcus gordonii strains, identical except for the site of single insertion of a reporter gene in ribosomal RNA (rrn) operons, exhibit different growth kinetics and phenotypes when grown under agitated conditions in bioreactors. Under such conditions, viability and membrane integrity of S. gordonii derivative MSP818 were found to be lower than those of MSP812. Flow cytometric protocols were adapted and optimized for Gram-positive streptococci to study these effects at the population level. Unit genome content of S. gordonii was estimated as 1.97 Mb by comparing integral modes observed in DNA content distributions with those of E. coli standards, and this corresponded very well with the estimate obtained using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (2.13 Mb). Analysis of single chain light scattering intensity, protein, and DNA content distributions of the two strains during batch growth suggests that shear sensitivity of MSP818 and differences in chain length between the two strains significantly affect their growth kinetics.
The Disordered Crystal Structures of Zn(CN)2and Ga(CN)3

Abstract The structure of Zn(CN) 2 has been reexamined using neutron time-of-flight diffraction and has been determined to have symmetry Pn 3 m , a =5.9227 (1) A at 14 K and 5.8917 (1) A at 305 K (negative thermal “expansion”). The CN groups are disordered in contrast to the ordered arrangement with symmetry P 4 3 m assumed in earlier X-ray diffraction experiments. Zn is tetrahedrally surrounded with average Zn–(C, N)=1.9697(3) and C–N=1.1897(1) A. Ga(CN) 3 has been examined for the first time. X-ray powder diffraction shows it to have a cubic Prussian blue framework structure, symmetry Pm 3 m , a =5.295(2) A, also with CN disorder. Ga is octahedrally surrounded with average Ga–(C, N) distance=2.072(2) A and C–N=1.148(1) A.
Early Adolescence as a Critical Window During Which Social Stress Distinctly Alters Behavior and Brain Norepinephrine Activity

Many neural programs that shape behavior become established during adolescence. Adverse events at this age can have enduring consequences for both adolescent and adult mental health. Here we show that repeated social stress at different stages of adolescent development differentially affects rat behavior and neuronal activity. Early-adolescent (PND 28, EA), mid-adolescent (PND 42, MA), and adult (PND 63) rats were subjected to resident-intruder social stress (7 days) and behavior was examined 24–72 h later. In EA rats selectively, resident-intruder stress increased proactive responses in the defensive burying and forced swim tests. In adult rats, resident-intruder stress decreased burying behavior regardless of whether the animal was stressed as an adult or during early adolescence. As the locus coeruleus (LC)–norepinephrine system has been implicated in proactive defense behaviors, LC neuronal activity was quantified in separate cohorts. Stressed EA rats had elevated spontaneous LC discharge rates and diminished responses to sensory stimuli compared with controls. Microinjection of a CRF antagonist into the LC selectively inhibited neurons of stressed EA rats, suggesting that EA social stress induces tonic CRF release onto LC neurons, shifting the mode of discharge to an activated state that promotes active defensive behaviors. In all adult groups, resident-intruder stress resulted in an increased phasic response to sensory stimuli with no change in spontaneous rates. MA was a transition period during which social stress did not affect behavior or LC activity. The results suggest that social stress interacts with the brain norepinephrine system to regulate defensive strategies in an age-dependent manner.
Efficient Conformational Search Method for Peptides and Proteins: Monte Carlo Minimization with an Adaptive Bias

The energy function of a protein consists of a tremendous number of minima. Locating the global energy minimum (GEM), which corresponds to the native structure, is a severe problem in global optimization. The commonly used Monte Carlo minimization (MCM) method is based on a random selection of torsional angle values. We suggest selecting these values with biased probabilities depending on the increased structure energy correlations as the GEM is approached during the search. Our method applied to models of the 5-residue peptide Leu-enkephalin finds the GEM 2.7 faster than MCM.
The timing of lin-4 RNA accumulation controls the timing of postembryonic developmental events in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The lin-4 gene encodes a small RNA that is required to translationally repress lin-14 toward the end of the first larval stage of Caenorhabditis elegans development. To determine if the timing of LIN-14 protein down-regulation depends on the temporal profile of lin-4 RNA level, we analyzed the stage-specificity of lin-4 RNA expression during wild-type development and examined the phenotypes of transgenic worms that overexpress lin-4 RNA during the first larval stage. We found that lin-4 RNA first becomes detectable at approximately 12 h of wild-type larval development and rapidly accumulates to nearly maximum levels by 16 h. This profile of lin-4 RNA accumulation corresponded to the timing of LIN-14 protein down-regulation. Transgenic strains that express elevated levels of lin-4 RNA prior to 12 h of development display reduced levels of LIN-14 protein and precocious phenotypes consistent with abnormally early loss of lin-14 activity. These results indicate that the temporal profile of lin-4 RNA accumulation specifies the timing of LIN-14 down-regulation and thereby controls the timing of postembryonic developmental events.
Performance analysis of matrix preconditioning algorithms on parallel optical processors

An effective use for analog optical vector processors is in the implementation of robust computational algorithms that require a high throughput rate but exhibit tolerance for roundoff errors and noise. Matrix preconditioning algorithms used for preprocessing the data of linear algebraic equations have these properties. In this paper, the performance of polynomial matrix preconditioning algorithms realized on optical processors is analyzed. The results of the error analysis and simulations show that for a given set of data the spatial errors and detector noise below a certain threshold level do not affect the accuracy of the optical preconditioning. Formulas for calculating such thresholds of tolerable amounts of optical errors are derived. The effects of optical preconditioning on the final solution of a system of linear algebraic equations are also analyzed, and it is found that optical preconditioning improves the rate of convergence and the final accuracy. Thus simple and efficient optical preprocessors can be designed with preconditioning algorithms to assist parallel solvers of linear algebraic equations.
A 9 $\mu$ A, Addressable Gen2 Sensor Tag for Biosignal Acquisition

Biosensors present exciting opportunities in novel medical and scientific applications. However, sensor tags presented to date cannot interface with practical sensors, lack addressability, and/or require a custom (high-cost) interrogator. Our tag provides these features via ultra-low-power circuitry including a low-noise biosignal amplifier, unique tag ID generator, calibration-free 3 MHz oscillator, and EPC C1 Gen2 protocol compatibility. In addition to design details and measurement data from the fabricated IC, we present in vivo muscle temperature measurement from an untethered in-flight hawkmoth.
Surface spin waves in the semi-infinite S=1 Heisenberg model with biquadratic exchange and single-ion uniaxial anisotropy

Abstract The surface spin-wave spectrum of the S =1 Heisenberg model (ferromagnet and anti-ferromagnet) is determined within a second-order Green function procedure. The resultant T ∼0 spectrum is independent of biquadratic exchange, in contrast to first-order treatments, and less dependent on uniaxial anisotropy than those determined by first-order treatments.
Part II papers generated by the conference on the methodology of curricular studies

An indicative discussion of methods of curriculum study having as their objective the development of (1) design guidelines, and (2) evaluation measures for academic programs is given.
Tunneling in nanoscale silicon particles embedded in an a-SiO/sub 2/ matrix

The starting point of our endeavor, in the realization of a resonant tunneling structure in silicon, is based on the fact that sufficiently small particles with dimensions below the electron mean free path should exhibit quantum effects resulting in a series of resonant tunneling similar to resonant tunneling through a double barrier quantum well structure. A diode structure was fabricated with a thin layer (10-20 nm) of nanoscale silicon particles embedded in an a-SiO/sub 2/ matrix between an n-type silicon substrate and an aluminum contact. Discrete sharp conductance peaks, having linewidth of 25-30 meV, were observed even at room temperature.
Menhaden oil feeding increases lipolysis without changing plasma membrane order in isolated rat adipocytes.

Abstract Alterations in dietary fatty acid composition can influence the regulation of metabolism in adipose tissue. To study the effect of dietary fatty acid composition on lipolysis we fed rats diets containing menhaden oil (MO) or coconut oil (CO) for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks on the diets body weight was similar in both groups although epididymal, retroperitoneal and mesenteric fat pad masses were significantly elevated (∼30%) in rats fed the CO diet. Epinephrine-stimulated lipolysis was elevated at concentrations >1M in epididymal adipocytes isolated from the MO group. The addition of insulin (10nM) to 1M epinephrine decreased lipolysis to a similar level in both groups. Plasma membrane fatty acid composition was altered to reflect the respective diets. Membranes from the CO fed group were enriched in saturated fatty acids (C10–16) and 18:1n9 and devoid of long chain n3 fatty acids compared to the MO fed group. To examine the effect of altered plasma membrane fatty acid composition on membrane physical properties we used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Membrane order was determined in adipocyte plasma membranes from −20°C to +58°C. Peak CH 2 symmetric and asymmetric stretching frequencies indicated that below 31°C membrane order is increased in CO fed animals. When temperature was increased above 31°C, there were no differences in membrane order between groups. The results of this study suggest that membrane order is not responsible for the lower rate of lipolysis in animals fed coconut oil when both variables are measured at 37°C.
Photochemische Reaktionen oberflächenaktiver Moleküle in Systemen monomolekularer Schichten— Steuerung der Reaktivität durch die Umgebung

Der Einflus einer gezielt aufgebauten Mikroumgebung auf die Reaktivitat wurde durch Synthese oberflachenaktiver Molekule mit photoreaktiven Gruppen und Einbau dieser Molekule in organisierte Systeme monomolekularer Schichten untersucht. Deutliche Effekte der Mikroumgebung wurden bei folgenden Reaktionen beobachtet: cis-trans-Isomerisierung von Olefinen, Photoeliminierungen bei Ketonen, Ligandenaustauschprozessen, Bildung von Excimeren und Photodimeren sowie Photoredoxprozessen. Dabei wurden Reaktionen sowohl in den organisierten Schichten als auch an Grenzflachen studiert. Die Resultate deuten neue Moglichkeiten fur die Entwicklung von Katalysatorsystemen, Modellen fur biologische Reaktionen und gesteuerten chemischen Synthesen an.
Mapping Trends in the Study of Political Institutions

The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions. Edited by Rod Rhodes, Sarah Binder, Bert Rockman. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 816 pp., $150.00 (ISBN: 0-19-927569-4). Ever since James March and Johan Olsen (1984) heralded the return of institutionalism, institutional schools and institutional studies of varying stripes and colors have blanketed the social sciences. The “New” Institutionalism gave rise to the “next revolution in political science” (Goodin and Klingemann 1996:25)—a movement that many political scientists have joined. The attraction of institutionalism is anything but self-evident. Discourses on institutions and institutional theories tend to be maddeningly vague, and, as Mick Moran (p. 146) observes in The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions , they often bog down in what amount to theological debates about the meaning of institutions. They also tend to leave readers with a feeling that something profoundly important is happening and an urgent wish to understand what that something is. Anybody who has read even a few scholarly books or articles on institutions, institutionalization, or institutionalism should thus be interested in a handbook on the study of political institutions. In this context, The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions , edited by Rod Rhodes, Sarah Binder, and Bert Rockman, promises to bring some much needed clarity. Rhodes, Binder, and Rockman have assembled a star-studded cast of contributors who generally deliver crisply written and reasonably accessible essays that outline the dominant schools of institutional thinking. The chapters discuss a wide array of political institutions—ranging from local government to international security organizations, from constitutions to bicameralism. The handbook ends with a small set of delightful essays written by stalwarts Samuel Beer, Jean Blondel, and Hugh Heclo. The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions provides an authoritative sweep of the field, charting the state of affairs and the field's historical roots. It identifies dominant research questions and presents key findings. All this, of course, is exactly what one would expect of a book published as part of Robert Goodin's handbook …
The Prince and the Pauper? CEO Pay in the United States and United Kingdom

We document differences in CEO pay and incentives in the United States and the United Kingdom for 1997. After controlling for size, sector and other firm and executive characteristics, CEOs in the US earn 45% higher cash compensation and 190% higher total compensation. The calculated effective ownership percentage in the US implies that the median CEO receives 1.48% of any increase in shareholder wealth compared to 0.25% in the UK. The differences, can be largely attributed to greater share option awards in the US arising from institutional and cultural differences between the two countries.
Reliability assessment of state-of-the-art GaN HEMT by means of cellular Monte Carlo Simulation

Here we discuss how Monte Carlo Simulations can be exploited to investigate reliability issues in GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) devices. In particular, we report simulation results for high-frequency, high-power state-of-the-art GaN HEMTs focusing our analysis on the effects of that threading edge dislocations on the DC and RF performance of state of the art technologies. A complete characterization of an InGaN back - barrier device has been performed, and the influence of disclocation density on device performance analyzed.. Furthermore, a device structure based on the N-face configuration is analyzed.
Characterization of a US sheep scrapie isolate with short incubation time.

Scrapie is a naturally occurring fatal neurodegenerative disease of sheep and goats. Susceptibility to the disease is partly dependent upon the genetic makeup of the host. In a previous study it was shown that sheep intracerebrally inoculated with US scrapie inoculum (No. 13–7) developed terminal disease within an average of 19 months. We have since produced an inoculum, No. x124 from pooled brains of US-origin sheep scrapie, that results in incubations nearly threefold shorter. The present study documents clinicopathologic findings and the distribution of abnormal prion proteins (PrPSc) by immunohistochemical (IHC) and Western blot (WB) techniques, in tissues of sheep inoculated with No. x124. All inoculated sheep developed clinical disease and were euthanatized within an average of 7.7 months postinoculation (MPI). Sheep that had valine/valine or alamine/valine at codon 136 of prion protein (PRNP) gene developed the disease faster and were euthanatized at an average of 4.3 and 5.6 MPI, respectively. Als...
The effect of tissue docosahexaenoic and arachidonic acids levels on hypersaline tolerance and leucocyte composition in striped bass (Morone saxatilis) larvae

Larval striped bass (M. saxatilis), tissue docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic (AA) acids levels were modulated through dietary enrichments and the effect on growth and survivorship examined. Mean growth was significantly greater in larvae enriched with AA than in larvae enriched with DHA (F-value for AA treatment was 20.5 versus only 5.1 for the DHA treatment). Dietary treatment did not have a significant effect on larval survivorship (56.0±2.4%, p > 0.05). When challenged with hypersaline (25 psu) immersion, DHA enriched larvae survived better than AA enriched larvae, but larvae with body tissue levels of 15.4 mg AA g−1 and 7.2–15.4 mg DHA g−1 dry weight provided maximal survivorship to the challenge. Elevated levels of body tissue AA was generally associated with elevated levels of whole body cortisol. On the other hand, increasing levels of DHA mainly affected the kinetics of cortisol increase to hypersaline exposure. Larvae injected intraperitoneally with formalin fixed Staphylococcus aureus responded by altering the proportion of lymphocytes, monocytes and neutrophils in perpherial blood. Lymphocytes, which accounted for the largest percentage of white blood cells (over 70%), decreased in all challenged larvae during the first 6 hours post injection then returned to pre-challenge levels after 44 hours. Conversely, the relative proportion of monocytes and neutrophils rose from 14% and 2% up to 28% and 6% of the total circulating leucocytes, respectively. The largest increase occurred in larvae fed a moderate level of both DHA and AA.
RAD51-dependent break-induced replication in yeast.

A chromosome fragmentation assay was used to measure the efficiency and genetic control of break-induced replication (BIR) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Formation of a chromosome fragment by de novo telomere generation at one end of the linear vector and recombination-dependent replication of 100 kb of chromosomal sequences at the other end of the vector occurred at high frequency in wild-type strains. RAD51 was required for more than 95% of BIR events involving a single-end invasion and was essential when two BIR events were required for generation of a chromosome fragment. The similar genetic requirements for BIR and gene conversion suggest a common strand invasion intermediate in these two recombinational repair processes. Mutation of RAD50 or RAD59 conferred no significant defect in BIR in either RAD51 or rad51 strains. RAD52 was shown to be essential for BIR at unique chromosomal sequences, although rare recombination events were detected between the subtelomeric Y repeats. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are potentially lethal lesions that can occur spontaneously during normal cellular metabolism or by treatment of cells with DNA-damaging agents (38). DSBs also function as initiators of regulated recombination processes, such as mating type switching in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, meiotic recombination, and the rearrangement of immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor genes (8,
Dynamic Contact Mechanics of Radial Tears of the Lateral Meniscus: Implications for Treatment

Purpose To characterize the effect of radial tears (RTs) of the lateral meniscus and their subsequent treatment (inside-out repair, partial meniscectomy) on joint contact mechanics during simulated gait. Methods Six human cadaveric knees were mounted on a simulator programmed to mimic human gait. A sensor was inserted below the lateral meniscus to measure peak joint contact pressure location, magnitude, and contact area. The following conditions were compared: intact meniscus, 30% RT (at the popliteal hiatus), 60% RT, 90% RT, repair, and partial meniscectomy. Data were analyzed in the midstance phase of gait (14% and 45%) when axial force was at its highest (2,100 N). Results Intact knees had peak contact pressures of 5.9 ± 0.9 MPa and 6.4 ± 1.1 MPa at 14% and 45% of gait, respectively. RTs of up to and including 60% had no effect on pressure magnitude or location. RTs of 90% resulted in significantly increased peak pressure (8.4 ± 1.1 MPa) in the postero-peripheral aspect of the tibial plateau and reduced contact area versus the intact knee, at 45% of gait. Repair resulted in a significant decrease in peak pressure (7.7 ± 1.0 MPa) relative to 90% RT but had no effect on contact area. Partial lateral meniscectomy resulted in areas and pressures that were not significantly different from 90% tears (8.7 ± 1.5 MPa). Conclusions Simulated large RTs of the lateral meniscus in the region of the popliteal hiatus show unfavorable dynamic contact mechanics that are not significantly different from those resulting from a partial lateral meniscectomy. Pressure was significantly reduced with inside-out repair but was not affected by partial meniscectomy; contact area was not restored to that of the intact condition for either procedure. Clinical Relevance Large RTs in the region of the popliteal hiatus show unfavorable dynamic contact mechanics.
Eruption conditions of spatter deposits

Abstract Spatter is an eruptive product that forms within a narrow range of thermal conditions: it must be hot enough to deform and agglutinate, but not so hot that clasts completely re-fuse and remobilize as clastogenic lava. This narrow thermal window of spatter-forming conditions allows for quantitative prediction of cooling rates and accumulation rates. Cooling and accumulation rates then provide information that enables estimates of eruption parameters for inaccessible and prehistoric deposits. High-temperature experiments conducted on basaltic scoria from Devil’s Garden, Oregon have revealed the eruption temperature was ~ 1130 °C. The strength welds formed between experimental clasts is shown to depend on cooling rate. Natural samples are compared to the experimental samples by measuring tensile strength and welded area between clasts. The weld strength in natural deposits yields estimates of cooling rates that range between 2.5 °C and 48 °C/min, with the majority of the samples grouping between 7 °C and 14 °C/min. Thermal models based on these cooling rates yield spatter accumulation rates of 0.5–1.8 m/h in the Devil’s Garden spatter deposits. We provide a general model for cooling and accumulation rates for spatter cones, ramparts, and hornitos, which allow estimation of the factors that control basaltic eruptive products.
Molecular dynamics simulations of collective electronic and nuclear modes in conjugated systems

A new time dependent algorithm based on the Collective Electronic Oscillators (CEO) method for computing excited state potential surfaces is used for simulating femtosecond nuclear dynamics in polydiacetylene oligomers.
Henk Learns to Swim

This case describes how an inexperienced teacher, Henk Vogts, prepares for his debut as a case teacher. The case presents a dialogue on case teaching between Vogts and his mentor, Peter Klamp. The case exhibit consists of the teaching note Vogts prepared. The two main learning objectives are (1) how to prepare a teaching note and (2) how to use the teaching note in the classroom.
The Neuropsychological Evaluation

Neurological diseases are often associated with changes in cognition and behavior. These changes can be evaluated through a battery of standardized measures that possess a high degree of predictive validity. Neuropsychological assessment can assist with diagnosis, as the pattern of scores obtained on testing can help differentiate between various conditions. Results from neuropsychological testing are often used to assist in treatment planning and care for patients. Characterizing an individual’s specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses and identifying psychiatric or emotional conditions that may be a factor in one’s functional status can contribute to the development of a management plan.
Alcoholic liver disease: New UK alcohol guidelines and Dry January: enough to give up boozing?

The recently released UK Chief Medical Officers Alcohol Guidelines Review set up new restricted limitations in alcohol consumption—14 units, the same amount for both men and women. In parallel, the popular Dry January campaign was launched again, aimed at promoting prolonged abstinence. Are these campaigns enough to give up boozing?
Floret-shaped solid domains on giant fluid lipid vesicles induced by pH.

Lateral lipid phase separation of titratable PS or PA lipids and their assembly in domains induced by changes in pH are significant in liposome-based drug delivery: environmentally responsive lipid heterogeneities can be tuned to alter collective membrane properties such as permeability (altering drug release) and surface topography (altering drug carrier reactivity) impacting, therefore, the therapeutic outcomes. At the micrometer scale fluorescence microscopy on giant unilamellar fluid vesicles (GUVs) shows that lowering pH (from 7.0 to 5.0) promotes condensation of titratable PS or PA lipids into beautiful floret-shaped domains in which lipids are tightly packed via hydrogen-bonding and van der Waals interactions. The order of lipid packing within domains increases radially toward the domain center. Lowering pH enhances the lipid packing order, and at pH 5.0 domains appear to be entirely in the solid (gel) phase. Domains phenomenologically comprise a circular “core” cap beyond which interfacial instabi...
Maintenance of Relational Information in Working Memory Leads to Suppression of the Sensory Cortex

Working memory (WM) for sensory-based information about individual objects and their locations appears to involve interactions between lateral prefrontal and sensory cortexes. The mechanisms and representations for maintenance of more abstract, nonsensory information in WM are unknown, particularly whether such actively maintained information can become independent of the sensory information from which it was derived. Previous studies of WM for individual visual items found increased electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha (8–13 Hz) power over posterior electrode sites, which appears to correspond to the suppression of cortical areas that represent irrelevant sensory information. Here, we recorded EEG while participants performed a visual WM task that involved maintaining either concrete spatial coordinates or abstract relational information. Maintenance of relational information resulted in higher alpha power in posterior electrodes. Furthermore, lateralization of alpha power due to a covert shift of attention to one visual hemifield was marginally weaker during storage of relational information than during storage of concrete information. These results suggest that abstract relational information is maintained in WM differently from concrete, sensory representations and that during maintenance of abstract information, posterior sensory regions become task irrelevant and are thus suppressed.
“I Just Felt Called...”: Oral History and the Meaning of Faith in American Religious History

In 1944 Harry Atkinson, a white Southern Baptist, left seminary and went to work and live at Koinonia Farm, an interracial Christian cooperative community in southwest Georgia. Half a century later Atkinson struggled to explain why he left his family and comfortable future as a minister to fight racism by daily violating Jim Crow laws. Neither his childhood nor his family background could explain his decision, he asserted; his brother remained conservative on racial and social issues. Rather, he remembered reading the New Testament while serving as an air warden during World War II and realizing Christ taught that violence was never justified. He also recalled how a lecture about the churchs duty to care for the poor and homeless made him want to be a minister. As for the specific decision to go to Koinonia, Atkinson concluded simply that he had been "called."' This interview moment demonstrates the benefits and methodological challenges of using oral sources in the study of American religion. By encouraging interviewees to reflect on their beliefs and motivations, scholars can explore the nature of personal faith, the connection between faith and behavior, and the role of religion in historical events. The exchange raises, however, the question of how to investigate something as private as faith, in particular how to talk to people about religion and interpret their responses. This essay will review the contributions made to the study of modern American religion by scholars who use oral sources, the variety of archival oral history collections currently available for use, and some methodological issues involved in conducting interviews about religious belief. Although American religious history has undergone a renaissance in the past twenty years, most new research focuses on the eighteenth and nineteenth centu-
Integrating geophysical methods to study subsurface features of the Snake River Plain, Idaho

Structural complexities and evolution of the Snake River Plain (SRP) and the role of extension in its formation have been a topic of scientific discussion for decades. Recent oil and natural gas exploration that is taking place on the Western Snake River Plain (WSRP) is another important factor in the need for a detailed scientific study of the area. In this research, we are addressing some of these issues by focusing on the WSRP, using a pre-existing gravity and magnetic database compiled through a community effort. These data are available at the Pan American Center for Environmental Studies (http://research.utep.edu/paces ). In the regional context of the SRP, the Complete Bouguer Anomaly (CBA) varies by about 210 mGal along its axis. For gravity processing, we used upward continuation filters to delineate features by wavelength. Total Magnetic Intensity (TMI) data were also analyzed. TMI values range over 600 nT with much more complex and erratic magnetic signatures that arise from the shallow flood basalts and rhyolite deposits within the region. We used total horizontal derivative and tilt derivative filters for further processing of the magnetic data. We are able to identify the major structural components in the area using gravity and magnetic data. The bounding normal faults of the WSRP are well observed. CBA values along the SRP show that the western and central sections of the SRP have higher gravity anomaly values than the eastern sections and the Yellowstone (YS) area. We used forward gravity modeling of the subsurface structures across the WSRP, starting from the High Lava Plains on the southwest to the Idaho Batholith on the northeast. From the model, we observed that the Moho depth increases northeastward and varies between 35 and 43 km along the profile. These results match with receiver function Moho depth estimates from the EarthScope USArray. We used borehole data and shallow seismic survey results to constrain the upper 5 km of the model along the profile. A number of normal faults that form a series of grabens and half grabens were also modeled beneath the WSRP. On the southwest part of the WSRP profile, the Oregon-Idaho grabens that separate the WSRP from the High Lava Plains is also modeled.
New Employee Socialization: The Roles of Social Networks

Although new employee socialization process is purported to be dynamic, involving incremental changes in experiences, learning, and adjustments on the part of the new employee over time, the role o...
Neonatal lipopolysaccharide exposure does not diminish the innate immune response to a subsequent lipopolysaccharide challenge in Holstein bull calves

The innate immune response following experimental mastitis is quite variable between individual dairy cattle. An inflammatory response that minimizes collateral damage to the mammary gland while still effectively resolving the infection following pathogen exposure is beneficial to dairy producers. The ability of a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure in early life to generate a low-responding phenotype and thus reduce the inflammatory response to a later-life LPS challenge was investigated in neonatal bull calves. Ten Holstein bull calves were randomly assigned to either an early life LPS (ELL) group (n=5) or an early life saline (ELS) group (n=5). At 7d of age, calves received either LPS or saline, and at 32d of age, all calves were challenged with an intravenous dose of LPS to determine the effect of the early life treatment (LPS or saline) on the immune response generated toward a subsequent LPS challenge. Dermal fibroblast and monocyte-derived macrophage cultures from each calf were established at age 20 and 27d, respectively, to model sustained effects from the early life LPS exposure on gene expression and protein production of components within the LPS response pathway. The ELL calves had greater levels of plasma IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α than the ELS calves following the early life LPS or saline treatments. However, levels of these 2 immune markers were similar between ELL and ELS calves when both groups were subsequently challenged with LPS. A comparison of the in vitro LPS responses of the ELL and ELS calves revealed similar patterns of protein production and gene expression following an LPS challenge of both dermal fibroblast and monocyte-derived macrophage cultures established from the treatment groups. Whereas an early life exposure to LPS did not result in a dampened inflammatory response toward a later LPS challenge in these neonatal bull calves, the potential that exposure to inflammation or stress in early life or in utero can create an offspring with a low-responding phenotype as an adult is intriguing and has been documented in rodents. Further work is needed to determine if an inflammatory exposure in utero in a dairy animal would result in a low-responding innate immune phenotype.
Endod extract, a plant-derived molluscicide: toxicity for mosquitoes.

A butanol extract of the soapberry plant, Phytolacca dodecandra (endod), is toxic at about 1 part per million to second and third instar Aedes, Culex, and Anopheles mosquitoes. Ova and pupae are not affected and adults die only after ingestion of concentrated endod. Endod extract is considerably more toxic than rotenone and about 100 times as active as a commercial saponin preparation. It is about twice as toxic as DDT when applied against DDT-resistant larval A. aegypti; 20 times less toxic for DDT-susceptible C. pipiens, and 40 times less toxic for DDT-susceptible A. quadrimaculatus. The concentration of endod required to kill mosquitoes is less than that which kills snails and fish.
Violence during pregnancy.

Abuse of pregnant women is a solvable health problem. The social image of pregnancy as a time of nurturing, love, and caring must be re-examined, because the evidence sadly is present that for many women abuse characterizes their pregnancies. Routine assessment of abuse with a planned intervention for all women is essential to break the cycle of violence and must be standard care for all women regardless of whether the setting is primary or tertiary care. Language: en
Deep Space Network - Paradigm Changes for Cost-Efficiency

This paper describes these paradigm changes, quantifies the cost reductions, and identifies the careful monitoring to assure that technical performance is maintained.