cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic properties of bacterial flagellar motors

TETHERED bacteria1 rotate at the angular velocity at which the torque generated by the flagellar motor2 is balanced by the torque due to the viscous drag. In general, M = bηΩ, where M is the torque, η is the viscosity, Ω is the angular velocity, and b is a coefficient which depends on the size and the shape of the cell, the position of the axis of rotation, and the distance between the cell and the wall. For a sphere of radius a (not too close to the wall) M = 8πη a3Ω (ref. 3). Viscous forces are so large in comparison with inertial forces4 that Ω will change with M virtually instantaneously; any discontinuities in the one will be evident in the other. Consider a cell of radius a and uniform density ρ rotating at an angular velocity Ω0; if its motor is suddenly disengaged, Ω will decay exponentially to 0 with a time constant ρ a2/15η, and the cell will stop in Ωρ a2/15η radians. For Escherichia coli this is less than a millionth of a revolution. The cell also is subject to rotational diffusion, but this will be evident only if the coupling between the flagellum and the body of the cell is fluid. The root-mean-square deviation in the angular position is (2Dt)½, where D is the rotational diffusion constant and t is the time. For a cell which can rotate freely, D = kT/bη, where k is Boltzmann's constant and T is the absolute temperature.
Detection and correction of frequency instabilities for volumetric 1H echo-planar spectroscopic imaging.

Spectral quality in 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) critically depends on the stability of the main magnetic field. For echo-planar MRSI implemented at 3 T, temperature variation in the passive steel shims of the magnet system can lead to a significant drift in the resonance frequency. A method is presented that incorporates interleaved measurement of the instantaneous resonance frequency of a reference water signal into a volumetric MRSI sequence and allows correction for the drift during postprocessing. Results from normal human brain at 3 T indicate that the correction largely removes lineshape distortions, recovers metabolite signal loss, and improves spectral quality by reducing the width of spectral lines; however, particularly in inferior regions, other sources of distortion may be present that cause broadening of spectral lines. Magn Reson Med 53:465–469, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A comparative evaluation of inpatient rehabilitation for older adults with debility, hip fracture, and myopathy.

Abstract Kortebein P, Granger CV, Sullivan DH. A comparative evaluation of inpatient rehabilitation for older adults with debility, hip fracture, and myopathy. Objective To compare the functional outcomes and discharge location of older adults admitted to inpatient rehabilitation for debility, hip fracture, and myopathy. Design Retrospective cohort study from 2002 to 2003 with information from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR). Setting United States inpatient rehabilitation facilities subscribing to the UDSMR. Participants Patients 65 years or older (N=84.701) with primary diagnoses of debility (n=14,835), hip fracture (n=68,915), and myopathy (n=951). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Change in functional status, including efficiency (change in functional status divided by length of stay in days) and discharge setting. Results The efficiency of the patients with debility (1.7±2.1) was significantly lower than that of the patients with hip fracture (1.9±1.6; P P =.3). Significantly more patients with debility (68%) were discharged home than the hip fracture and myopathy groups (66% and 65%, respectively; P Conclusions Although statistical differences exist, the functional recovery and rate of discharge home of older adult patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation with a primary debility diagnosis are essentially the same clinically as those of patients with a diagnosis of either hip fracture or myopathy. Given these findings, and given that hip fracture and myopathy are approved medical conditions according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 75% rule, the medical condition debility warrants consideration for inclusion as a qualifying medical diagnosis under this rule. However, further research is needed to develop relatively objective criteria for the debility diagnosis, and to identify those patients with debility who are most likely to benefit from inpatient rehabilitation.
Development of a Heart Disease Locus of Control Scale

Summary.-A 20-item Heart Disease Locus of Control Scale was given to 50 health fair attenders and 51 nonattenders. The scale has three subscales: internal (7 items), chance (8 items), and powerful others (5 items). Reliability assessed by test-retest was .83 and Cronbach alphas for the subscales were internal .83, chance 36, and powerful others .76. Validity was examined through content validity, criterion-related validity, construct validity. and discriminant validity. Reading was at the ninth grade. It is recommended that the more specific Heart Disease Scale be utilized when conducting studies of heart disease.
Chronic aspiration of gastric fluid accelerates pulmonary allograft dysfunction in a rat model of lung transplantation.

Objective Emerging clinical evidence suggests that gastroesophageal reflux disease is associated with pulmonary allograft dysfunction. In this study, we used a model of rat lung transplantation to test the hypothesis that chronic aspiration of gastric contents accelerates pulmonary allograft dysfunction. Methods We evaluated the effects of chronic aspiration on pulmonary isografts (strain F344) and pulmonary allografts (strain WKY to strain F344). Chronic aspiration consisted of 0.5 mL/kg of filtered gastric contents injected weekly into the left lung for 4 to 8 weeks beginning 1 week after transplantation. Seven days after the last aspiration, animals were killed, and grafts were evaluated grossly and by histologic and immunochemical analyses, including Masson trichrome staining for collagen and immunostaining for CD68 + and CD8 + cells. Serum cytokine concentrations were determined by bead-based immunoassays or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Allografts without aspiration (n = 12) demonstrated a relatively normal architecture with diffuse International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation grade 3 acute rejection; occasional grade 4 rejection was noted. In contrast, allografts with chronic aspiration (n = 7) demonstrated severe grade 4 acute rejection with significant monocyte infiltration, fibrosis, and loss of normal alveolar anatomy. Grossly, 8 (67%) of 12 allografts without aspiration seemed to inflate and perfuse normally, whereas all allografts exposed to chronic aspiration were firm and shrunken, without the ability to ventilate ( P = .013; Fisher exact test). Aspiration was associated with increases in graft-infiltrating macrophages and CD8 + T cells and higher levels of serum transforming growth factor β. Conclusions Chronic aspiration of gastric contents promotes accelerated allograft failure and may promote a profibrotic environment.
Revisiting parallel rendering for shared memory machines

Increasing the core count of CPUs to increase computational performance has been a significant trend for the better part of a decade. This has led to an unprecedented availability of large shared memory machines. Programming paradigms and systems are shifting to take advantage of this architectural change, so that intra-node parallelism can be fully utilized. Algorithms designed for parallel execution on distributed systems will also need to be modified to scale in these new shared and hybrid memory systems. In this paper, we reinvestigate parallel rendering algorithms with the goal of finding one that achieves favorable performance in this new environment. We test and analyze various methods, including sort-first, sort-last, and a hybrid scheme, to find an optimal parallel algorithm that maximizes shared memory performance.
Incidence of selected ureolytic bacteria in human dental plaque from sites with differing salivary access

Saliva is the main source of urea in the human mouth and may be responsible for the predilection of ureolytic bacteria for certain tooth sites. As a test of this hypothesis, the ureolytic bacteria, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Actinomyces naeslundii, Actinomyces viscosus and coagulase-negative oral staphylococci, were enumerated in supragingival plaque from various sites in each of 10 subjects. The sites sampled included the maxillary and mandibular incisors (chosen because the lower incisors are more exposed to the submandibular-sublingual secretion than the upper) and the maxillary and mandibular molars (the upper molars being closer to the source of parotid saliva). After dispersion of the plaque samples in saline, subsamples of each suspension were plated on appropriate selective media and other subsamples were taken for nitrogen analysis to measure the amount of plaque sampled. H. parainfluenzae that used urea was present in the largest numbers, A. viscosus was next and A. naeslundii and coagulase-negative staphylococci were least. The staphylococci and H. parainfluenzae were more numerous from mandibular than from maxillary incisors and from maxillary than mandibular molars, a pattern which suggests that salivary access favours their selection. The numbers of A. viscosus and A. naeslundii were not related to salivary access: A. viscosus was most numerous from the maxillary incisors, possibly because this site is normally the most acidic of the four studied and A. viscosus is strongly acidogenic and aciduric; the incidence of A. naeslundii had no relationship with site.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Could supplementary dietary tryptophan prevent sudden infant death syndrome

Abstract Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep seems to protect infants from developing the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A biological rhythm involving the locus ceruleus and the dorsal raphe nucleus has been related to melatonin and REM sleep. The same rhythm is present in the medial parabrachial nucleus which is an oscilator for pneumotaxic activity. Tryptophan has been shown to be effective in some adult sleep apneas and to increase REM sleep in infants. Tryptophan — serotonin — melatonin deficiencies are suggested as a possible cause of SIDS.
Optimizing sample handling for urinary proteomics.

Interrogation of the urinary proteome for clinically useful biomarkers of disease will require normalization of methods for protein extraction and sample handling. Variations in collection methods and other procedures may introduce significant discrepancies in qualitative and quantitative measurements. Here we demonstrate that the method of protein extraction, length of handling at room temperature, and repetitive freeze−thaw cycles do not seem to alter the urinary proteome at either the protein or peptide level in a manner that degrades information obtainable by mass spectrometry.
Characterization of a full-length cDNA which codes for the human spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase.

Abstract Spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase is the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of cellular polyamines. Using a combination of cDNA library screening and anchored PCR methodologies, a full length cDNA designated AP3 F7 corresponding to the human SSAT was cloned using RNA from the human large cell undifferentiated lung carcinoma line NCI H157. The resulting cDNA clone is 1,060 base pairs with a 513 base open reading frame coding for a 171 amino acid protein, with a predicted subunit molecular weight of 20,023. The 5′ non-coding region of AP3 F7 is 165 bases and the 3′ untranslated region is 382 bases with a polyadenylation site 20 bases 5′ to the poly(A) tail. This full length cDNA should be an aid in the study of the regulation of spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase expression and the significance of the acetyltransferase in polyamine metabolism.
Identifying causal genes and dysregulated pathways in complex diseases

In complex diseases, various combinations of genomic perturbations often lead to the same phenotype. On a molecular level, combinations of genomic perturbations are assumed to dys-regulate the same cellular pathways. Such a pathway-centric perspective is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms of complex diseases and the identification of potential drug targets. In order to provide an integrated perspective on complex disease mechanisms, we developed a novel computational method to simultaneously identify causal genes and dys-regulated pathways. First, we identified a representative set of genes that are differentially expressed in cancer compared to non-tumor control cases. Assuming that disease-associated gene expression changes are caused by genomic alterations, we determined potential paths from such genomic causes to target genes through a network of molecular interactions. Applying our method to sets of genomic alterations and gene expression profiles of 158 Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients we uncovered candidate causal genes and causal paths that are potentially responsible for the altered expression of disease genes. We discovered a set of putative causal genes that potentially play a role in the disease. Combining an expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTL) analysis with pathway information, our approach allowed us not only to identify potential causal genes but also to find intermediate nodes and pathways mediating the information flow between causal and target genes. Our results indicate that different genomic perturbations indeed dys-regulate the same functional pathways, supporting a pathway-centric perspective of cancer. While copy number alterations and gene expression data of glioblastoma patients provided opportunities to test our approach, our method can be applied to any disease system where genetic variations play a fundamental causal role.
Management of gastrointestinal bleeding after strictureplasty for Crohn's disease.

PURPOSE: To determine the incidence, clinical features, and optimal management of poststrictureplasty hemorrhage in Crohn's disease. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 139 patients with Crohn's disease seen at the Cleveland Clinic who underwent a total of 523 strictureplasties between June 1984 and June 1992. RESULTS: Poststrictureplasty hemorrhage occurred in 13 patients (93 percent). Average drop in hemoglobin and hematocrit in these patients was 5.8 g/dl and 0.174, respectively. All patients were managed nonoperatively. Mean follow-up was 29.6 (range, 7–62) months. CONCLUSION: Strictureplasty in Crohn's disease is a safe procedure in selected patients. Poststrictureplasty hemorrhage is uncommon; however it can be managed nonoperatively in most cases. An algorithm for management of such patients is presented.
Emotional Numbness Modifies the Effect of End-of-Life Discussions on End-of-Life Care

Abstract Context Overall, end-of-life (EOL) discussions are unrelated to psychological distress and associated with lower rates of aggressive care near death. Nevertheless, patients who report that they feel emotionally numb about their illness might encounter difficulties cognitively processing an EOL discussion. Objectives We hypothesized that emotional numbness would modify the effect of EOL discussions on the receipt of less aggressive EOL care. Methods Data were derived from structured interviews with 290 participants in the federally-funded Coping with Cancer Study, a multisite, prospective cohort study of patients with advanced cancer followed-up till their death. Patients' reports of EOL discussions with their physician and emotional numbness were assessed at a median of 4.6 months before their death. Information about aggressive EOL care (i.e., ventilation, resuscitation in the last week of life, death in the intensive care unit) was obtained from postmortem caregiver interviews and medical charts. Main and interactive effects of EOL discussions and emotional numbness on aggressive EOL care, adjusting for potential confounds, were evaluated using multiple logistic regression. Results The likelihood of aggressive EOL care associated with having EOL discussions increased by a factor of nine (adjusted odds ratio=9.02, 95% CI 1.37, 59.6, P=0.022) for every unit increase in a patient's emotional numbness score. Conclusion Emotional numbness diminishes a patient's capacity to benefit from EOL discussions. The EOL decision making may be more effective if clinical communications with emotionally numb patients are avoided.
Determination of serum aluminum by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry: A comparison between Zeeman and continuum background correction systems☆

Abstract Excessive exposure to aluminum (Al) can produce serious health consequences in people with impaired renal function, especially those undergoing hemodialysis. Al can accumulate in the brain and in bone, causing dialysis-related encephalopathy and renal osteodystrophy. Thus, dialysis patients are routinely monitored for Al overload, through measurement of their serum Al. Electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is widely used for serum Al determination. Here, we assess the analytical performances of three ETAAS instruments, equipped with different background correction systems and heating arrangements, for the determination of serum Al. Specifically, we compare (1) a Perkin Elmer (PE) Model 3110 AAS, equipped with a longitudinally (end) heated graphite atomizer (HGA) and continuum-source (deuterium) background correction, with (2) a PE Model 4100ZL AAS equipped with a transversely heated graphite atomizer (THGA) and longitudinal Zeeman background correction, and (3) a PE Model Z5100 AAS equipped with a HGA and transverse Zeeman background correction. We were able to transfer the method for serum Al previously established for the Z5100 and 4100ZL instruments to the 3110, with only minor modifications. As with the Zeeman instruments, matrix-matched calibration was not required for the 3110 and, thus, aqueous calibration standards were used. However, the 309.3-nm line was chosen for analysis on the 3110 due to failure of the continuum background correction system at the 396.2-nm line. A small, seemingly insignificant overcorrection error was observed in the background channel on the 3110 instrument at the 309.3-nm line. On the 4100ZL, signal oscillation was observed in the atomization profile. The sensitivity, or characteristic mass ( m 0 ), for Al at the 309.3-nm line on the 3110 AAS was found to be 12.1 ± 0.6 pg, compared to 16.1 ± 0.7 pg for the Z5100, and 23.3 ± 1.3 pg for the 4100ZL at the 396.2-nm line. However, the instrumental detection limits (3 SD) for Al were very similar: 3.0, 3.2, and 4.1 μg L − 1 for the Z5100, 4100ZL, and 3110, respectively. Serum Al method detection limits (3 SD) were 9.8, 6.9, and 7.3 μg L − 1 , respectively. Accuracy was assessed using archived serum (and plasma) reference materials from various external quality assessment schemes (EQAS). Values found with all three instruments were within the acceptable EQAS ranges. The data indicate that relatively modest ETAAS instrumentation equipped with continuum background correction is adequate for routine serum Al monitoring.
Getting students engaged might not be enough: the importance of psychological needs satisfaction on social-emotional and behavioral functioning among early adolescents

This study examined the relations between students’ social-emotional/behavioral functioning, engagement, and basic psychological needs satisfaction among a sample of $$N=83$$ sixth grade students. A mediation model was tested to examine the role of needs satisfaction on the relations between engagement and social-emotional/behavioral functioning. Results indicated that engaged students have lower social-emotional and behavioral risk; however, this relation can be explained almost entirely by students’ underlying satisfaction of basic psychological needs. These results suggest that targeting student engagement is not sufficient when attempting to improve social-emotional/behavioral outcomes; rather, students must also feel autonomous, competent, and experience a genuine connection with their school. Therefore, it appears that school-based programs designed to improve students’ engagement in school might only have a limited impact on supporting social-emotional/behavioral functioning if basic psychological needs satisfaction is not also addressed.
An insight into statistical refractive index properties of cell internal structure via low-coherence statistical amplitude microscopy.

Refractive index properties, especially at the nanoscale, have shown great potential in cancer diagnosis and screening. Due to the intrinsic complexity and weak refractive index fluctuation, the reconstruction of internal structures of a biological cell has been challenging. In this paper, we propose a simple and practical approach to derive the statistical properties of internal refractive index fluctuations within a biological cell with a new optical microscopy method – Low-coherence Statistical Amplitude Microscopy (SAM). We validated the capability of SAM to characterize the statistical properties of cell internal structures, which is described by numerical models of one-dimensional Gaussian random field. We demonstrated the potential of SAM in cancer detection with an animal model of intestinal carcinogenesis – multiple intestinal neoplasia mouse model. We showed that SAM-derived statistical properties of cell nuclear structures could detect the subtle changes that are otherwise undetectable by conventional cytopathology.
Redundancy and word perception during reading

The experimental investigation reported in this article deals with the process of extracting visual information during reading. Subjects read texts that manipulated the predictability of a target word through the choice of an immediately preceding word. Spelling errors were also introduced into some of the target words. A detailed examination was made of the subjects’ eye-movement patterns. Several aspects of eye behavior were analyzed to determine if contextual constraint and misspelling influenced perception during reading. Subjects exhibited no differences in the frequency of fixating the target words in the high-constraint and low-constraint conditions. However, the fixation of the target words was shorter in the high-constraint condition. In addition, fixation durations and regression probabilities associated with misspelled words were also significantly inflated. The eye-movement patterns showed that minimal spelling errors often disrupted reading, even when the misspelled words were highly predictable. These results suggest that language constraint does expedite processing during reading; furthermore, they suggest that such facilitation does not necessarily occur through a reduction in the visual analysis of the text.
Radiative lifetimes of B and C 1Sigma(+) states of CO

A delayed-coincidence technique has been used to measure lifetimes of B and C 1Sigma(+) states of CO. Previous data on these states considerably disagree with each other. It is found that the lifetime of the B 1Sigma(+) state is 25.9 + or - 2 ns and that of the C 1Sigma(+) state is 2.2 + or - 0.5 ns.
3D imaging of ice sheets

We developed and deployed, in July 2005, a wideband 8-channel synthetic aperture radar (SAR) at Summit Camp, Greenland (72.5783° N and 38.4596° W). The radar was designed to map internal layers, measure topography, and generate backscatter maps - all in a single pass [1]. Information on ice thickness, bed topography and basal conditions is essential to the refinement of glaciological models of ice sheets, which are used to predict ice-sheet behavior (especially mass balance) and to select deep ice-core sites. This work focuses on the use of fine-resolution 3D imaging algorithms for combining all 8-channels to form cross-track image slices through the ice. As compared with traditional 2D depth sounding, these 3D images allow for the characterization of bed topography with very fine resolution. They also allow for the generation of strip-map SAR images with absolute geocoding without ground control points (these are unavailable at the bottom of the ice), and the ability to analyze the ice-sheet volume in 3D. Topography, backscattering, and 3D ice volume results are illustrated here.
Attentional bias for trauma-related words: exaggerated emotional Stroop effect in Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans with PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves debilitating symptoms that can disrupt cognitive functioning. The emotional Stroop has been commonly used to examine the impact of PTSD on attentional control, but no published study has yet used it with Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans, and only one previous study has compared groups on habituation to trauma-related words. We administered the emotional Stroop, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the PTSD Checklist (PCL) to 30 veterans with PTSD, 30 military controls, and 30 civilian controls. Stroop word types included Combat, Matched-neutral, Neutral, Positive and Negative. Compared to controls, veterans with PTSD were disproportionately slower in responding to Combat words. They were also slower and less accurate overall, did not show interference on Negative or Positive words relative to Neutral, and showed a trend for delayed but successful habituation to Combat words. Higher PCL and BDI scores also correlated with larger interference effects. Because of its specificity in detecting attentional biases to trauma-related words, the emotional Stroop task may serve as a useful pre- and post task with intervention studies of PTSD patients.
Localization of the lysosomal protease dipeptidyl peptidase II in the young normal rat lens: a correlative light and electron microscopic analysis.

This investigation was a follow-up to an earlier biochemical and light microscopic histochemical study, in which the lysosomal protease dipeptidyl peptidase II (DPP II) was demonstrated in rodent lenses. In the present study, a method was employed that allowed a more precise histochemical localization of the enzyme, one that was suitable for ultrastructural as well as light microscopic analysis. Successful demonstration of the enzyme using either of two synthetic substrates, and the significant reduction of the enzyme reaction by phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride (PMSF), a serine protease inhibitor, pointed to the sensitivity of the method. A flat-embedding technique allowed the correlative light and electron microscopic analysis of specific areas of the specimen.Examination of the epithelium and outer cortical regions of the lens revealed the compartmentalization of DPP II activity within lysosomal dense bodies that were concentrated primarily in the equatorial and sutural regions, and also an association o...
Influence of high-order dynamics on helicopter flight-control system bandwidth

The increasing use of highly augmented digital flight-control systems in modern military helicopters prompted an examination of the influence of the influence of rotor dynamics and other high-order dynamics on control-system performance. A study was conducted at NASA Ames Research Center to correlate theoretical predictions of feedback gain limits in the roll axis with experimental test data obtained from a variable-stability research helicopter. Feedback gains, the break frequency of the presampling sensor filter, and the computational frame time of the flight computer were systematically varied. The results, which showed excellent theoretical and experimental correlation, indicate that the rotor-dynamics, sensor-filter, and digital-data processing delays can severely limit the usable values of the roll-rate and roll-attitude feedback gains.
Collective Responsibility and the State

ARE the citizens of a state liable for what it does in their name? It is a key principle of international law that states—as unitary legal persons—can be held responsible for their acts. When a state breaches an international obligation, it has a duty to make reparation for any injury it causes, either by making restitution, paying compensation, or providing some alternative form of satisfaction, such as an official apology. Moreover, the International Court of Justice has consistently asserted that it may order state payment of reparations when a breach of international law has occurred. Reparations have often been levied in the aftermath of aggressive war: France was required to pay reparations in 1871; Germany was required to pay reparations after World War I; Germany’s Eastern, Soviet-occupied zone paid reparations to the USSR after World War II; and today Iraq continues to pay reparations to Kuwait for the First Gulf War. In 2001 the International Law Commission produced draft articles codifying these principles of state responsibility.jopp_360 190..208 Current international law thus attributes holistic responsibility to states for their acts. On this model, the state as an organized agent is held responsible independently of its members. Of course, for the state to discharge its responsibility, liability for reparations will normally have to be distributed to members, but this distribution is performed in an independent second step. The key feature of the corporate model is that since responsibility accrues to the collective, citizens may face demands to do their part in discharging responsibility merely because they belong to the body politic. My focus in this article is primarily on this second step, the distribution of state responsibility to citizens. When is the state as a corporate agent morally entitled to pass on responsibility to its members? When reparations are levied on the state, the tax burden eventually falls on individuals, and indeed on some who may have opposed the state’s acts. Consider the case of a German in the Soviet-occupied zone after 1945, forced to contribute to reparations for Nazi
Three-Dimensional, Flexible Nanoscale Field-Effect Transistors as Localized Bioprobes

Nanoelectronic devices offer substantial potential for interrogating biological systems, although nearly all work has focused on planar device designs. We have overcome this limitation through synthetic integration of a nanoscale field-effect transistor (nanoFET) device at the tip of an acute-angle kinked silicon nanowire, where nanoscale connections are made by the arms of the kinked nanostructure, and remote multilayer interconnects allow three-dimensional (3D) probe presentation. The acute-angle probe geometry was designed and synthesized by controlling cis versus trans crystal conformations between adjacent kinks, and the nanoFET was localized through modulation doping. 3D nanoFET probes exhibited conductance and sensitivity in aqueous solution, independent of large mechanical deflections, and demonstrated high pH sensitivity. Additionally, 3D nanoprobes modified with phospholipid bilayers can enter single cells to allow robust recording of intracellular potentials.
Cyclin A Degradation by Primate Cytomegalovirus Protein pUL21a Counters Its Innate Restriction of Virus Replication

Cyclin A is critical for cellular DNA synthesis and S phase progression of the cell cycle. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can reduce cyclin A levels and block cellular DNA synthesis, and cyclin A overexpression can repress HCMV replication. This interaction has only been previously observed in HCMV as murine CMV does not downregulate cyclin A, and the responsible viral factor has not been identified. We previously reported that the HCMV protein pUL21a disrupted the anaphase-promoting complex (APC), but a point mutant abrogating this activity did not phenocopy a UL21a-deficient virus, suggesting that pUL21a has an additional function. Here we identified a conserved arginine-x-leucine (RxL) cyclin-binding domain within pUL21a, which allowed pUL21a to interact with cyclin A and target it for proteasome degradation. Homologous pUL21a proteins from both chimpanzee and rhesus CMVs also contained the RxL domain and similarly degraded cyclin A, indicating that this function is conserved in primate CMVs. The RxL point mutation disabled the virus' ability to block cellular DNA synthesis and resulted in a growth defect similar to pUL21a-deficient virus. Importantly, knockdown of cyclin A rescued growth of UL21a-deficient virus. Together, these data show that during evolution, the pUL21a family proteins of primate CMVs have acquired a cyclin-binding domain that targets cyclin A for degradation, thus neutralizing its restriction on virus replication. Finally, the combined proteasome-dependent degradation of pUL21a and its cellular targets suggests that pUL21a may act as a novel suicide protein, targeting its protein cargos for destruction.
An exact theory of histone-DNA adsorption and wrapping

We find exact solutions to a one-dimensional (1D) interacting particle theory and apply the results to the adsorption and wrapping of polymers (such as DNA) around protein particles (such as histones). Each adsorbed protein is represented by a Tonks gas particle. The length of each particle is a degree of freedom that represents the degree of DNA wrapping around each histone. Thermodynamic quantities are computed as functions of wrapping energy, adsorbed histone density, and bulk histone concentration (or chemical potential); their experimental signatures are also discussed. Histone density is found to undergo a two-stage adsorption process as a function of chemical potential, while the mean coverage by high affinity proteins exhibits a maximum as a function of the chemical potential. However, fluctuations in the coverage are concurrently maximal. Histone-histone correlation functions are also computed and exhibit rich two–length-scale behavior.
Reversible cardiotoxicity with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Jawad Francis, MD,1 Manmeet S. Ahluwalia, MD,2 Meir Wetzler, MD,2 Eunice Wang, MD,2 Pamela Paplham, RN, FNP,2 Shannon Smiley, MD,2 Philip L. McCarthy, MD,2 I. Larry Cohen, MD,3 Edward Spangenthal, MD,2 and Minoo Battiwalla, MD2 1Department of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York; 2Department of Medicine, 3Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York
Improved Performance Bounds on Max-Product Algorithms for Multiple Fault Diagnosis in Graphs with Loops

In this paper, we analyze the performance of belief propagation max-product algorithms when used to solve the multiple fault diagnosis (MFD) problem. The MFD problem is described by a bipartite diagnosis graph (BDG) which consists of a set of components, a set of alarms, and a set of connections (or causal dependencies) between them, along with a set of parameters that describe the prior probabilities for component, alarm and connection failures. Given the alarm observations, our goal is to find the status of the components that has the maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability. By using properties of the max-product algorithm (MPA) and the sequential max-product algorithm (SMPA), we are able to analyze in this paper the performance of both algorithms with respect to the MAP solution (in terms of the probability of erroneous diagnosis). Our theoretical analysis indicates that the upper bounds in this paper are up to several orders of magnitude better than existing bounds, especially when the smallest loop size is an odd number. We also provide examples which demonstrate that our theoretical upper bounds match very well with simulation results.
Microenterprise Dynamics in Developing Countries: How Similar are They to Those in the Industrialized World? Evidence from Mexico

A rich panel data set from Mexico is used to study the patterns of entry, exit, and growth of microenterprises and to compare these with the findings of the mainstream theoretical and empirical work on firm dynamics. The Mexican self-employment sector is much larger than its counterpart in the United States, which is reflected in higher unconditional rates of entry into the sector. The evidence for Mexico points to the significant presence of well-performing salaried workers among the likely entrants into self-employment, as opposed to the higher incidence of poorer wageworkers among the entrants into the U.S. self-employment sector. Despite these differences, however, the patterns of entry, survival, and growth with respect to age, education, and many other covariates are very similar in Mexico and the United States. These strong similarities suggest that mainstream models of worker decisions and firm behavior are useful guides for policymaking for the developing-country microenterprise sector. Furthermore, they suggest that, as a first approximation, the developing-country microenterprise should probably be viewed as they are in the advanced countries as offering potentially desirable job opportunities to low-productivity workers.
Dialogical Action: Moving From Community-Based to Community-Driven Participatory Research

Proponents of community-based research advocate for the active involvement and engagement of community members, citing improved construct validity, intervention efficacy, and accountability. However, to create the conditions in which expertise is mutually constructed and in which no one is the object of research, a reconsideration of the fundamental ethos of community involvement and engagement is required. In this article, we seek to accomplish two goals: (a) to briefly assess the definitions of community health, focus groups, and dissemination that are often used in community-based research; and (b) to introduce an application of dialogical action that goes beyond traditional focus group methodology to promote the creation of an evolving and dynamic dialogue among campus and community stakeholders. An urban case study is presented.
Dynorphin Promotes Abnormal Pain and Spinal Opioid Antinociceptive Tolerance

The nonopioid actions of spinal dynorphin may promote aspects of abnormal pain after nerve injury. Mechanistic similarities have been suggested between opioid tolerance and neuropathic pain. Here, the hypothesis that spinal dynorphin might mediate effects of sustained spinal opioids was explored. Possible abnormal pain and spinal antinociceptive tolerance were evaluated after intrathecal administration of [D-Ala(2), N-Me-Phe(4), Gly-ol(5)]enkephalin (DAMGO), an opioid mu agonist. Rats infused with DAMGO, but not saline, demonstrated tactile allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia of the hindpaws (during the DAMGO infusion) and a decrease in antinociceptive potency and efficacy of spinal opioids (tolerance), signs also characteristic of nerve injury. Spinal DAMGO elicited an increase in lumbar dynorphin content and a decrease in the mu receptor immunoreactivity in the spinal dorsal horn, signs also seen in the postnerve-injury state. Intrathecal administration of dynorphin A(1-17) antiserum blocked tactile allodynia and reversed thermal hyperalgesia to above baseline levels (i.e., antinociception). Spinal dynorphin antiserum, but not control serum, also reestablished the antinociceptive potency and efficacy of spinal morphine. Neither dynorphin antiserum nor control serum administration altered baseline non-noxious or noxious thresholds or affected the intrathecal morphine antinociceptive response in saline-infused rats. These data suggest that spinal dynorphin promotes abnormal pain and acts to reduce the antinociceptive efficacy of spinal opioids (i.e., tolerance). The data also identify a possible mechanism for previously unexplained clinical observations and offer a novel approach for the development of strategies that could improve the long-term use of opioids for pain.
Young children's selective trust in informants

Young children readily act on information from adults, setting aside their own prior convictions and even continuing to trust informants who make claims that are manifestly false. Such credulity is consistent with a long-standing philosophical and scientific conception of young children as prone to indiscriminate trust. Against this conception, we argue that children trust some informants more than others. In particular, they use two major heuristics. First, they keep track of the history of potential informants. Faced with conflicting claims, they endorse claims made by someone who has provided reliable care or reliable information in the past. Second, they monitor the cultural standing of potential informants. Faced with conflicting claims, children endorse claims made by someone who belongs to a consensus and whose behaviour abides by, rather than deviating from, the norms of their group. The first heuristic is likely to promote receptivity to information offered by familiar caregivers, whereas the second heuristic is likely to promote a broader receptivity to informants from the same culture.
Microarchitecture soft error vulnerability characterization and mitigation under 3D integration technology

As semiconductor processing techniques continue to scale down, transient faults, also known as soft errors, are increasingly becoming a reliability threat to high-performance microprocessors fabricated using state-of-the-art CMOS technologies. Emerging 3D chip integration techniques leverage vertically stacked structures to reduce on-chip wire delay and have shown the capability of overcoming interconnect bottlenecks as well as reducing power consumption. While the benefits of 3D die stacking on microprocessor performance and power have been extensively investigated recently, its implication on transient fault susceptibility is largely unknown. In this work, we make the first attempt to characterize microarchitecture soft error vulnerabilities across the stacked chip layers under 3D integration technologies. Using models and simulations that capture soft error physical mechanism and circuit/architecture level impact, our study reveals the opportunities of leveraging 3D integration (e.g. the structure of vertical stacking and the incorporation of heterogeneous process technologies) to achieve enhanced reliability. We showcase that the first characteristic allows outer-layers to shield inter-layers from particle strikes and the second feature enables the deployment of error resilience device techniques (e.g. Silicon-On-Insulator) on vulnerable layers to achieve a reliability target while minimizing manufacturing cost. We further propose a set of microarchitecture techniques which can effectively exploit the reliability benefits offered by 3D technologies. For example, we propose the scheduling of vulnerable in-flight instructions to reliable layers and design robust register files by combing reliability-hardened circuits, program value vulnerability and 3D integration techniques. Experimental results show that these techniques are able to substantially reduce 3D microarchitecturespsila soft error rate by up to 88% compared to a planar design. We further evaluate the thermal implication of the proposed techniques and conclude that their impact on chip temperature is negligible.
An elegant hardware-corroborated statistical repair and test methodology for conquering aging effects

We propose a new and efficient statistical-simulation-based test methodology for optimally selecting repair elements at beginning-of-life (BOL) to improve the end-of-life (EOL) functionality of memory designs. This is achieved by identifying the best BOL test/repair corner that maximizes EOL yield, thereby exploiting redundancy to optimize EOL operability with minimal BOL yield loss. The statistical approach makes it possible to identify such corners with tremendous savings in terms of test time and hardware. To estimate yields and search for the best repair corner the approach relies on fast conditional importance sampling statistical simulations. The methodology is versatile and can handle complex aging effects with asymmetrical distributions. Results are demonstrated on state-of-the-art dual-supply memory designs subject to statistical negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) effects, and hardware results are shown to match predicted model trends. Categories and Subject Descriptors B7.2 [Hardware]: Integrated Circuits — Memory Designs General Terms Design, Performance, Reliability. Probability, Redundancy
International Relations Theory and How Civil Wars End

International relations theory has enriched the research program on civil wars in several ways that represent not only a cross-fertilization between the two fields but perhaps a degree of theoretic...
Constructing battery-aware virtual backbones in sensor networks

A critical issue in wireless sensor networks is to construct energy efficient virtual backbones for routing, broadcasting and data propagating. The minimum connected dominating set (MCDS) has been proposed as a backbone to reduce power dissipation and prolong network lifetime. However, we find that an MCDS cannot guarantee maximum network lifetime as it does not consider the battery discharging behavior. Recent study in battery technology reveals that the discharging of a battery is not linear. Batteries tend to discharge more power than needed, and reimburse the over-discharged power later if they have sufficiently long recovery time. In order to optimize network performance and construct an energy efficient virtual backbone in sensor networks, battery-awareness should be considered. In this paper we first study the mathematical battery discharging model and provide a simplified battery model suitable for implementation in sensor networks. We then introduce the concept of battery-aware connected dominating set (BACDS) and show that in general the BACDS can achieve longer lifetime than the MCDS. Then we show that finding a minimum BACDS (MBACDS) is NP-hard and give a distributed approximation algorithm to construct the BACDS. The resulting BACDS constructed by our algorithm is at most (8+/spl Delta/)opt size where /spl Delta/ is the maximum node degree and opt is the size of an optimal BACDS. The time and message complexities of the algorithm are O(n) and O(n(/spl radic/n+logn+/spl Delta/)), respectively, where n is the number of nodes in the network. The simulation results show that the BACDS constructed by our algorithm can save a significant amount of energy and achieve up to 30% longer network lifetime than the MCDS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work considering battery-awareness in the construction of connected dominating sets.
L1 Division and Differentiation Patterns Influence Shoot Apical Meristem Maintenance

Plant development requires regulation of both cell division and differentiation. The class 1 KNOTTED1-like homeobox (KNOX) genes such as knotted1 (kn1) in maize (Zea mays) and SHOOTMERISTEMLESS in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) play a role in maintaining shoot apical meristem indeterminacy, and their misexpression is sufficient to induce cell division and meristem formation. KNOX overexpression experiments have shown that these genes interact with the cytokinin, auxin, and gibberellin pathways. The L1 layer has been shown to be necessary for the maintenance of indeterminacy in the underlying meristem layers. This work explores the possibility that the L1 affects meristem function by disrupting hormone transport pathways. The semidominant Extra cell layers1 (Xcl1) mutation in maize leads to the production of multiple epidermal layers by overproduction of a normal gene product. Meristem size is reduced in mutant plants and more cells are incorporated into the incipient leaf primordium. Thus, Xcl1 may provide a link between L1 division patterns, hormonal pathways, and meristem maintenance. We used double mutants between Xcl1 and dominant KNOX mutants and showed that Xcl1 suppresses the Kn1 phenotype but has a synergistic interaction with gnarley1 and rough sheath1, possibly correlated with changes in gibberellin and auxin signaling. In addition, double mutants between Xcl1 and crinkly4 had defects in shoot meristem maintenance. Thus, proper L1 development is essential for meristem function, and XCL1 may act to coordinate hormonal effects with KNOX gene function at the shoot apex.