cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of olefin geometry in the activity of hydrocarbon stapled peptides targeting eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E).

Hydrocarbon stapled (HCS) peptides are a class of cross-linked α-helix mimetics. The technology relies on the use of α,α′-disubstituted alkenyl amino acids, which fully contrain the helical region to typically yield peptides with enhanced structural ordering and biological activity. Recently, monosubstituted alkenyl amino acids were disclosed for peptide stapling; however, the impact that this tether has on HCS peptide structure and activity has not yet been fully explored. By applying this HCS to the disordered peptide eIF4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1), we discovered that this type of tethering has a dramatic effect on olefin geometry and activity of the resultant stapled peptides, where the putative trans isomer was found to exhibit enhanced in vitro and cellular inhibitory activity against eIF4E protein–protein interactions. We further demonstrated that the metathesis catalyst used for ring-closing metathesis can influence monosubstituted HCS peptide activity, presumably through alteration of the cis/trans olefin ratio. This study represents one of the first in-depth analyses of olefin isomers of a stapled peptide and highlights an additional feature for medicinal chemistry optimization of this class of peptide-based probes.
Soil bacterial biodiversity is driven by long-term pasture management, poultry litter, and cattle manure inputs.

Soil microorganisms are important for maintaining soil health, decomposing organic matter, and recycling nutrients in pasture systems. However, the impact of long-term conservation pasture management on soil microbial communities remains unclear. Therefore, understanding soil microbiome responses and the impact of conservation pasture management, is an important component of maintaining soil health, fertility, and potentially increasing forage yield on the largest agricultural land-use in the US. The aim of this study was to identify soil microbiota and evaluate soil microbiome community differences based on 13-years of pasture management [hayed, continuously grazed, and rotationally grazed with a fenced, un-grazed and unfertilized buffer strip (control)]. Since 2004, all pastures received broiler litter at an annual rate of 5.6 Mg ha-1. Soil samples were collected at a 0-15 cm depth from 2016-2017 and bacterial communities characterized using Illumina high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Overall, pasture management influenced soil microbial community structure, as well as year effects on it (P<0.05). Soils receiving no poultry litter or cattle manure had the lowest microbial abundance, which corresponded to lower soil fertility. Continuously grazed systems had the highest (P<0.05) soil community richness. Consequently, increased grazing pressure may increase soil diversity, owing to continuous manure deposition, which is rich in microflora and nutrients. Another possibility is that the stressed plants excrete compounds in the rhizosphere that provide substrates that encourage the growth of different types of bacteria. These results suggest conservation pasture management (e.g. rotationally grazed systems) may not result in improved microbial diversity, albeit, filter strips were effective at reducing nutrients and bacterial movement as evident by low diversity and fertility in these areas. Overall, animal inputs (litter or manure) may directly drive phylogenetic community structure and be a source of increased diversity in soil microbiome communities.
Mechanisms of children's soil exposure

Pollution is a concerning and highly studied area, especially in the arena of children's health. The focus of this concern, however, is typically limited to air and water pollution, leaving an important source under-studied and out of the concern of the general public. Soil pollution provides a unique threat to children's health, due to their increased exposure and susceptibility to its contaminants. The microbiome of a child is developed prior to birth and continues to evolve over their lifetime with each encounter to the outside world. The environment a child inhabits directly affects their microbiome and their overall health, and through interactions with contaminated soil, a child can accumulate adverse health outcomes. The aim of this article is to summarize the methods by which soil becomes contaminated and how children become exposed to the resulting toxicants.
Highly Stable Meldrum’s Acid Derivatives for Irreversible Aqueous Covalent Modification of Amines

This work describes the development of a highly stable and pH-responsive probe for lysine modification. The scaffold has marked stability in the presence of several biological nucleophiles and acro...
Private Equity Buyouts in Healthcare: Who Wins, Who Loses?

Private equity firms have become major players in the healthcare industry. How has this happened and what are the results? What is private equity’s ‘value proposition’ to the industry and to the American people -- at a time when healthcare is under constant pressure to cut costs and prices? How can PE firms use their classic leveraged buyout model to ‘save healthcare’ while delivering ‘outsized returns’ to investors? In this paper, we bring together a wide range of sources and empirical evidence to answer these questions. Given the complexity of the sector, we focus on four segments where private equity firms have been particularly active: hospitals, outpatient care (urgent care and ambulatory surgery centers), physician staffing and emergency room services (surprise medical billing), and revenue cycle management (medical debt collecting). In each of these segments, private equity has taken the lead in consolidating small providers, loading them with debt, and rolling them up into large powerhouses with substantial market power before exiting with handsome returns.
Selective monitoring of insulin secretion after CRISPR interference in intact pancreatic islets despite submaximal infection

Virus-mediated gene knockdown in intact pancreatic islets is technically challenging due to poor infection of the center of the islet. Because the cells that do not have knockdown have normal insulin secretion, measuring changes in insulin secretion after gene knockdown is challenging. We describe a method to monitor insulin secretion from only the beta cells with knockdown of a gene of interest in intact islets using a single lentivirus containing a guide RNA, a luciferase insulin secretion reporter and a dCas9-KRAB cassette. This method allows rapid and inexpensive monitoring of insulin secretion from only those beta cells with knockdown, circumventing the problem of incomplete islet infection.
Copy number evolution with weighted aberrations in cancer.

Motivation Copy number aberrations (CNAs), which delete or amplify large contiguous segments of the genome, are a common type of somatic mutation in cancer. Copy number profiles, representing the number of copies of each region of a genome, are readily obtained from whole-genome sequencing or microarrays. However, modeling copy number evolution is a substantial challenge, because different CNAs may overlap with one another on the genome. A recent popular model for copy number evolution is the copy number distance (CND), defined as the length of a shortest sequence of deletions and amplifications of contiguous segments that transforms one profile into the other. In the CND, all events contribute equally; however, it is well known that rates of CNAs vary by length, genomic position and type (amplification versus deletion). Results We introduce a weighted CND that allows events to have varying weights, or probabilities, based on their length, position and type. We derive an efficient algorithm to compute the weighted CND as well as the associated transformation. This algorithm is based on the observation that the constraint matrix of the underlying optimization problem is totally unimodular. We show that the weighted CND improves phylogenetic reconstruction on simulated data where CNAs occur with varying probabilities, aids in the derivation of phylogenies from ultra-low-coverage single-cell DNA sequencing data and helps estimate CNA rates in a large pan-cancer dataset. Availability and implementation Code is available at https://github.com/raphael-group/WCND. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Joint Lattice of Reconstructability Analysis and Bayesian Network General Graphs

This paper integrates the structures considered in Reconstructability Analysis (RA) and those considered in Bayesian Networks (BN) into a joint lattice of probabilistic graphical models. This integration and associated lattice visualizations are done in this paper for four variables, but the approach can easily be expanded to more variables. The work builds on the RA work of Klir [22], Krippendorff [26], and Zwick [44], and the BN work of Pearl [33, 34, 35, 36], Verma and Pearl [39], Heckerman et al. [20], Chickering [9], Andersson et al. [1], and others. The RA four variable lattice and the BN four variable lattice partially overlap: there are ten unique RA general graphs, ten unique BN general graphs, and ten general graphs common to both RA and BN. For example, the specific graph having probability distribution p(A)p(C)p(B | AC) is unique to BN, the RA specific graph AB:AC:BC, which contains a loop, is unique to RA, and the specific graph ACD:BCD with probability distribution p(A | CD)p(B | CD)p(D | C)p(C) is common to both RA and BN. The joint RA-BN lattice of general graphs presented in this paper expands the set of general graphs with unique independence structures beyond what was previously available by either RA alone or BN alone, thus allowing for representations of complex systems which are (i) more accurate relative to data and/or (ii) simpler and thus more comprehensible and more generalizable than would be possible by modeling only with RA or only with BN.
In vivo evaluation of CD38 and CD138 as targets for nanoparticle-based drug delivery in multiple myeloma

Drug-loaded nanoparticles have established their benefits in the fight against multiple myeloma; however, ligand-targeted nanomedicine has yet to successfully translate to the clinic due to insufficient efficacies reported in preclinical studies. In this study, liposomal nanoparticles targeting multiple myeloma via CD38 or CD138 receptors are prepared from pre-synthesized, purified constituents to ensure increased consistency over standard synthetic methods. These nanoparticles are then tested both in vitro for uptake to cancer cells and in vivo for accumulation at the tumor site and uptake to tumor cells. Finally, drug-loaded nanoparticles are tested for long-term efficacy in a month-long in vivo study by tracking tumor size and mouse health. The targeted nanoparticles are first optimized in vitro and show increased uptake and cytotoxicity over nontargeted nanoparticles, with CD138-targeting showing superior enhancement over CD38-targeted nanoparticles. However, biodistribution and tumor suppression studies established CD38-targeted nanoparticles to have significantly increased in vivo tumor accumulation, tumor cell uptake, and tumor suppression over both nontargeted and CD138-targeted nanoparticles due to the latter’s poor selectivity. These results both highlight a promising cancer treatment option in CD38-targeted nanoparticles and emphasize that targeting success in vitro does not necessarily translate to success in vivo.
An implantable helmet for studying repeat TBI

An estimated 3.8 million traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur each year, the majority classified as mild. Interest in models of mild and repeat mild TBI has grown due to reports of lasting morbidity following sports- or combat-related injury. There remains a paucity of data linking cellular or systems-related mechanisms to behavioral outcomes following repeat mild TBI, particularly in adolescent and adult rats. It is critical, therefore, to develop flexible models to evaluate which parameters of injury are associated with brain vulnerability or poor chronic outcome compared to normal recovery. While there are several existing models of repeat mild TBI in rodents, studying the effects of multiple hits has been complicated by the need for multiple survival surgeries, extensive pre-injury anesthesia time, and limitations due to animal skull thickness.•We developed a chronic "helmet" implant by combining aspects of the Impact Acceleration and Controlled Cortical Impact models.•Implants were performed days before injury, allowing us to decouple surgery from TBI. Critically, by pre-implanting the animals, only minimal anesthesia was required to position them under the impactor.•The implant allows for flexibility in the number and severity of injuries and interval between impacts.
Determination Method for Shear Strength Parameters of Rock-Soil Mixtures Using Close-Range Photogrammetry and 3-D Limit Equilibrium Theory

Using a combination of close-range photogrammetry and three-dimensional(3-D) limit equilibrium theory, a determination method for the shear strength parameters of rock-soil mixture is presented. A close-range photogrammetry method is used for measurement of the 3-D terrain of the experimental target. Auto CAD Lisp and EXCEL VBA are used to perform 3-D limit equilibrium analysis of the stability of sliding mass and perform backanalysis of shear strength parameters. The presented method was used to determine the shear strength parameters of rock-soil mixtures at the Liyuan Hydropower Station. The 3-D terrain of sliding surface could be measured notably well using of closerange photogrammetry. The computed results reveal that the cohesion and friction angle of rock-soil mixtures were 3.15 k Pa and 29.88o for test A, respectively, and 4.43 k Pa and 28.30o for test B, respectively, within the range of shear strength parameters, as determined by field and laboratory tests. The computation of shear strength parameters is influenced by the mesh grid number, especially the cohesion of the rock-soil mixture. The application of close-range photogrammetry can reduce the siteworks and improve the computational efficiency and accuracy.
Clinical trial enrollment at a rural satellite hospital during COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Controlled clinical trials (CCTs) have traditionally been limited to urban academic clinical centers. Implementation of CCTs in rural setting is challenged by lack of resources, the inexperience of patient care team members in CCT conductance and workflow interruption, and global inexperience with remote data monitoring. Methods: We report our experience during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in activating through remote monitoring a multicenter clinical trial (the Study of Efficacy and Safety of Canakinumab Treatment for cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in Participants with COVID-19-induced Pneumonia [CAN-COVID] trial, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04362813) at a rural satellite hospital, the VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital (VCU-CMH) in South Hill, VA, that is part of the larger VCU Health network, with the lead institution being VCU Health Medical College of Virginia Hospital (VCU-MCV), Richmond, VA. We used the local resources at the facility and remote guidance and oversight from the VCU-MCV resources using a closed-loop communication network. Investigational pharmacy, pathology, and nursing were essential to operate the work in coordination with the lead institution. Results: Fifty-one patients with COVID-19 were enrolled from May to August 2020, 35 (69%) at VCU-MCV, and 16 (31%) at VCU-CMH. Among the patients enrolled at VCU-CMH, 37.5% were female, 62.5% Black, and had a median age of 60 (interquartile range 56–68) years. Conclusion: Local decentralization of this trial in our experience gave rural patients access to a novel treatment and also accelerated enrollment and more diverse participants’ representative of the target population.
Raman microspectroscopy as a useful new tool in understanding thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Raman spectroscopy is a well-understood technology with novel applications in both research and clinical settings. In their article, Sugiyama and colleagues apply this technology to understand thoracic aortic aneurysm development and biomarker identification. 1
General and Particular Jural Relations

A central problem of law is the gap between rules of conduct and reasons for action or decision. From the point of view of a lawmaker, it is often best that those who act under law follow relatively determinate rules that give content to rights, privileges, power, and immunities. Form the point of view of individual actors, and often of judges, reasons for action may not perfectly track the prescriptions of the governing rules. The question addressed here is, from which perspective did Hohfeld view rights, privileges, powers, and immunities?
Effect of intravenous cell therapy in rats with old myocardial infarction

Mounting evidence shows that cell therapy provides therapeutic benefits in experimental and clinical settings of chronic heart failure. However, direct cardiac delivery of cells via transendocardial injection is logistically complex, expensive, entails risks, and is not amenable to multiple dosing. Intravenous administration would be a more convenient and clinically applicable route for cell therapy. Thus, we determined whether intravenous infusion of three widely used cell types improves left ventricular (LV) function and structure and compared their efficacy. Rats with a 30-day-old myocardial infarction (MI) received intravenous infusion of vehicle (PBS) or 1 of 3 types of cells: bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), cardiac mesenchymal cells (CMCs), and c-kit-positive cardiac cells (CPCs), at a dose of 12 × 106 cells. Rats were followed for 35 days after treatment to determine LV functional status by serial echocardiography and hemodynamic studies. Blood samples were collected for Hemavet analysis to determine inflammatory cell profile. LV ejection fraction (EF) dropped ≥ 20 points in all hearts at 30 days after MI and deteriorated further at 35-day follow-up in the vehicle-treated group. In contrast, deterioration of EF was halted in rats that received MSCs and attenuated in those that received CMCs or CPCs. None of the 3 types of cells significantly altered scar size, myocardial content of collagen or CD45-positive cells, or Hemavet profile. This study demonstrates that a single intravenous administration of 3 types of cells in rats with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy is effective in attenuating the progressive deterioration in LV function. The extent of LV functional improvement was greatest with CPCs, intermediate with CMCs, and least with MSCs.
Ultrasonic Reflectivity of Diffusion Bonds

Solid state welds that bond a piece of metal to a piece of the same metal are increasingly important in industrial applications. Consequently new inspection methods that use ultrasound are being developed based on two characteristics of the weld. One inspection method uses the bond-line’s specular reflectivity to indicate microcracking or porosity [1–4]. A second method measures the attenuation (or velocity shift) to infer changes in the near-bond microstructure of the metal [4,5]. To date both methods give useful but primarily qualitative information on bond integrity.
Performance evaluation of photolithography cluster tools

The photolithography cluster tool is typically the most expensive tool set utilized in the production of semiconductor wafers and is often selected as a fabricator bottleneck. Modeling such a tool as a serial processing cluster tool, we deduce measures of tool performance. Queueing models reveal that the mean cycle time in the presence of a Poisson arrival process is related to the parallelism inherent in the system configuration. As a consequence, the normalized mean cycle time behavior has a different form than that of the standard single server queue. The process time of a lot and the throughput are evaluated in the presence of disruptions common in practical manufacturing environments. For multiple products with different process rates, it is shown that the throughput is not influenced by the order in which the lots are sequenced.
Linguistic indicators of patient, couple, and family adjustment following breast cancer.

Background: This study examined how language reflective of emotional and social processes during a cancer-related discussion relates to patient, couple, and family adjustment after breast cancer. It investigated whether emotional expression or relational focus, manifested in language use, indicates healthy family coping following breast cancer. Methods: Family members each completed measures of adjustment (Family Environment Scale, Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and patient Profile of Mood States) and engaged in a 15-min family discussion about how they have coped with breast cancer. Transcripts from the discussion were submitted to a text-analysis software program to obtain frequency of positive and negative emotion words, and personal pronouns spoken by each family member. The relationship between self-reports of adjustment and frequency of language use during the family discussion was analyzed with regression models. Results: Partners’ positive emotion words were indicative of better family adjustment, patients’ negative emotion words indicated greater family conflict, and sons’ and daughters’ anger words indicated poorer adjustment, whereas their anxiety words indicated better family adjustment. Partner we-talk was related to better dyadic adjustment, and couples ’‘ you’ was somewhat related to worse adjustment at all levels. Conclusions: Important information about how a family copes with breast cancer can be obtained by attending to families’ emotional and relational language. This study suggests that clinicians and members of families’ support networks can gauge how well a family has adapted after the breast cancer experience by attending to the type of words that each family member uses to describe how they coped with breast cancer. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of the dimensionality of interconnections on the storage capacity of a threshold controlled neural network

The author investigates the effect of the dimensionality of the interconnections in a Hopfield-type network on the storage capacity of the network. The analysis is performed for 1D, 2D, 3D and 4D interconnection geometries. The capacity was found to be independent of the dimensionality of the interconnections and to depend only on the total number of interconnections available in a given network. In addition, no evidence of any instabilities was observed, in contrast to physical systems of reduced dimensionality. >
Effect of vitamin B12 deprivation on the in vivo levels of coenzyme A intermediates associated with propionate metabolism.

Abstract The in vivo coenzyme A intermediates involved in the metabolic pathway in which vitamin B12 serves as a coenzyme (conversion of methylmalonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA) were measured in the livers of control and B12-deprived animals. Succinyl-CoA was assayed by the succinate thiokinase arsenolysis of succinyl-CoA coupled with 5',5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) measurement of the liberated coenzyme A. Methylmalonyl-CoA was measured by coupling the succinyl-CoA assay with methylmalonyl-CoA mutase. The assays were shown to be specific and reproducible and provided excellent recovery of added exogenous coenzyme A derivatives. Utilizing the in situ freeze-clamp technique, the mean liver propionyl coenzyme A levels were approximately 17-fold greater in the B12-deprived animals than in the controls. As anticipated by the site of the known metabolic action of coenzyme B12, methylmalonyl-CoA levels were also increased in the B12-deprived animals, but were only 12-fold greater in the B12-deprived than in the controls. Unexpectedly, succinyl-CoA levels were found to be on an average 4-fold greater in the livers of the B12-deprived animals than in the controls. In individual liver samples the propionyl-CoA to methylmalonyl-CoA ratio was approximately 2:1. Acetyl-CoA levels were not reduced by the presence of increased endogenous propionyl-CoA, but were actually increased in livers from the B12-deprived group. Study of selected Krebs' tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates showed increased malate and normal citrate levels in the livers of the B12-deprived group, yielding a 2-fold increase in the malate to citrate ratio. Thus, the present study provides a method of measurement of the CoA intermediates in the B12-dependent pathway in the intact liver and demonstrates that B12 deficiency results in an increase in propionyl-CoA and methylmalonyl-CoA as well as in succinyl-CoA, an intermediate beyond the site of action of coenzyme B12.
Advances in diagnostic instrumentation

The art of medical diagnosis is a continuously evolving process which often owes its progress to technical developments in other scientific fields.
Establishment and Characterization of a Primary Effusion (Body Cavity -Based) Lymphoma Cell Line (BC-3) Harboring Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8) in the Absence of Epstein-Barr Virus

The recently identified Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), has been found to be consistently associated with an unusual subset of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related lymphomas, the so-called body cavity-based lymphomas (BCBL) or primary effusion lymphomas (PEL). These lymphomas are characterized by a unique spectrum of morphologic and molecular characteristics, and grow as lymphomatous effusions without an identifiable contiguous tumor mass. Until now, efforts to delineate the role of KSHV in the pathogenesis of PELs have been hampered by the lack of appropriate model systems and the concomitant presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in nearly all cases examined, and in all previously established cell lines. We now report the establishment and characterization of a novel PEL cell line, BC-3, which is KSHV+ by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) but EBV- as assessed by a variety of methods including PCR for EBER, EBNA-2, and EBNA-3C. This cell line was established from a lymphomatous effusion obtained from an HIV- patient, and has immunophenotypic and molecular features consistent with the diagnosis of PEL, including an indeterminate immunophenotype with a B-cell immunogenotype and lack of c-myc proto-oncogene rearrangements. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis shows an intact KSHV genome of about 170 kb both in the cell line and in the viral isolate, whereas herpesvirus-like capsids are visible by electron microscopy. Consequently, the BC-3 cell line represents an invaluable tool as a source of KSHV, for both the evaluation of the pathogenic potential of this virus and the mechanistic characterization of its role in the development of Kaposi's sarcoma and malignant lymphoma.
Reproductive ecology of birch: A review

Abstract The reproductive processes and environmental requirements for regenerating Betula alleghaniensis, B. papyrifera, B. pendula , and B. pubescens are reviewed. Their taxonomy is confusing because somatic chromosome number varies within species, and natural hybridization is common. Paper birch and the Eurasian birches are typical species of the boreal forest, whereas yellow birch grows no farther north than 49°, from Manitoba and Minnesota eastward across North America, and somewhat farther south than paper birch. Birches do not tolerate shade, except that seedlings prosper best at about half of full sunlight, and can endure up to 90% shade. Long photoperiods are required for genetic sources from high latitudes and from high altitudes. Growth is optimum at about 18°–22°C soil and air temperatures. The birches do not use water efficiently and are sensitive to both drought and flooding. They require fertile sites for best growth and are particularly sensitive to available soil phosphorus. The response of birch to soil chemistry is genetically variable. The birches improve soils by cycling nutrients efficiently, conveying oxygen to the rooting profile, and improving soil structure and permeability. The Eurasian birches from mycorrhizal relationships with many symbionts that markedly improve growth and survival. The mycorrhizal relationships of the North American birches are meagerly documented. Birch roots adapt to difficult conditions. Roots proliferate in the upper soil, but sinkers penetrate deep soil and restrictive layers. Rootlets develop best in organic matter and penetrate decayed wood. Birch seedlings typically grow only about 1 dm tall the first year, so they are easily suppressed by faster-growing and allelochemic vegetation. Many animals, large and small, can hinder regeneration by browsing seedlings or eating seed. Fire can easily kill mature birch, but prepares good seedbeds. Surviving birches produce stress seed crops and coppice to enable regeneration. The birches begin producing seed when 10–15 years old. Seed quality is usually higher in years with warm springs and abundant flowering. The seed ripens in late summer to early autumn and disperses mostly within a few months. Less than 10% of the seed is dispersed farther than 100 m. Birch seed can retain some viability in the forest floor for up to 3 years. The birch seed-coat contains a germination inhibitor that can be neutralized by stratification or by light. Germination is generally best at about 20°–30°C and under blue-green to red wavelengths. Undisturbed litter seedbeds are too hot and dry, and physically hinder birch germination and establishment. Seedlings establish best on disturbed seedbeds consisting of mixed mineral soil and organic matter, decayed wood in particular. Burned-over humus seedbeds are overly hot and dry, and may require several years before they can support birch seedlings. In contrast, peat or Sphagnum seedbeds may remain receptive for many years.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Isoform and Receptor Expression During Compensatory Lung Growth

Background Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is required for blood vessel formation during lung growth and repair. Alteration of VEGF isoform expression has been demonstrated in response to fetal tracheal occlusion and in models of lung injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate VEGF expression during compensatory lung growth in the mouse. Methods Under general anesthesia, adult mice underwent left thoracotomy with ( n = 5) or without (sham, n = 5) pneumonectomy. The right lungs were harvested at 1, 3, and 7 d after the operation. Lung-to-body weight ratio as well as total DNA and protein content were measured. VEGF protein expression was analyzed by Western blot and ELISA. VEGF isoform expression was evaluated using semi-quantitative PCR followed by Imagequant optical densitometry. Values were compared by Student's t -test and ANOVA using Fisher's protected least significant difference post-hoc test where appropriate. Results Compensatory lung growth was observed as measured by increases in right lung-to-body weight ratio and in DNA and protein content. Total VEGF RNA and protein expression did not change after pneumonectomy. However, on post-operative day 1, there was a decrease in the relative percentage of VEGF188 mRNA (P P = 0.05). At 3 d postpneumonectomy, low relative VEGF188 expression persisted ( P P Conclusion During compensatory lung growth, we have observed an early postoperative reversion of VEGF isoform expression to the pattern seen during fetal lung development and in lung injury models.
USA immigration policy, source-country social programs, and the skill composition of legal USA immigration

In this paper, highly skilled and less-skilled immigrants in three age classes (20–34, 35–49, and 50–64) are distinguished. Since most highly skilled immigrants are males who enter the USA as numerically restricted, we study only numerically restricted male immigrants. Annual data (1972–1991) for 86 source countries are pooled, and the Hausman–Taylor instrumental variable technique is used to estimate the regressions. Along with measures of differential economic opportunities, migration costs, and USA institutional controls, we incorporate a unique set of variables relating to social programs in source countries. Such programs prove to be significant determinants of the skill composition of USA immigrants.
Convection and Diffusion in the Microcirculation

Abstract It has been conjectured that the motion of the plasma in the microcirculation can play a significant role in enhancing the transport of diffusing species, such as oxygen or carbon dioxide, between capillary endothelium and erythrocyte. A detailed theroretical and numerical investigation of the bolus model of capillary flow has been performed, and it is shown that for this highly idealized situation, the convective motions of the plasma, and the enhanced mixing due to these motions, do not appreciably augment diffusional species transport rates for dissolved gases. The result of our investigation of the equations of motion, and the equations of species transport, indicate that the plasma mixing is important only in the transfer of materials such as macromolecules, which may diffuse more slowly than dissolved gases.
Collaborative, cross-disciplinary learning and co-emergent innovation in eScience teams

Collaborative eScience research teams are impeded by difficulties defining problems that provide research opportunities for all participants. Problem formulation occurs early in the collaboration process when the demand for ideas is high. However, cross-disciplinary linkages and integrated conceptual frameworks from which strong interdisciplinary ideas emerge do not evolve until later. The process of co-creating interdisciplinary research ideas is fundamentally a learning problem; participants from different disciplines must learn enough about each other’s research interests to construct an integrated conceptual framework from which joint problems of interest can be created. However, participants rarely have the conceptual background needed to easily understand research topics in other disciplines; hence methods for enabling rapid learning in these situations are needed. Team interactions that more effectively generate interdisciplinary ideas can be enabled based on a better understanding the process of cross-disciplinary, collaborative learning. This article postulates several models of collaborative learning in these settings and discusses the implications for orchestrating team activities to achieve better outcomes.
Beta-1 integrin expression by human nasal chondrocytes in microcarrier spinner culture.

Beta-1 integrin plays a major role in cell attachment and is believed to be involved in mediating the interactions of chondrocytes with their environment. We previously reported that articular chondrocytes propagated in microcarrier spinner culture proliferated and reexpressed their chondrocytic protein. The goal of the present study was to investigate the expression of beta-1 integrin by chondrocytes growing on the surface of microcarriers. Nasal chondrocytes (4 x 10(3)/cm(2)) were seeded on microcarriers and incubated at 37 degrees C, 5% CO(2), 60 rpm. Expression of chondrocyte markers and beta-1 integrin was determined using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemical analyses. De novo synthesis of sulfate-containing proteoglycans was studied using 35SO(4) incorporation techniques. Like articular chondrocytes propagated in microcarrier spinner culture, nasal chondrocytes expressed high levels of collagen type II mRNA, whereas collagen type I mRNA levels were low. Aggrecan mRNA was detectable and levels of de novo 35SO(4) incorporation were high. Chondrocytes immunostained intensely for collagen type II and keratan sulfate but did not stain for collagen type I. beta-1 integrin mRNA levels were high, and the protein was immunolocalized to regions of cell-to-cell or cell-to-microcarrier contact. The fact the chondrocytes expressed high levels of beta-1 integrin raises the possibility that this integrin molecule has a role in the maintenance of the chondrocytic phenotype.
Ultra-low-power design

In this article, we describe how such an integrated approach has indeed made it possible to produce a PicoNode that meets the original goals. The resulting node combines innovative technologies, such as radio-frequency microelectromechanical systems (RF-MEMS) with ultra-low-power RF and digital integrated circuit (IC) design, and employs aggressive energy-scavenging and packaging techniques. For these technological advances to come to their full fruition, they must be complemented by novel opportunistic networking and wireless protocol schemes that virtually eliminate standby power while still providing robustness
Plasma testosterone, luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone one day after vasectomy.

In the attempt to clarify the stress effect of vasectomy the plasma testosterone -- luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) was measured before and 1 day following bilateral transcrotal vasectomy performed on 20 men between the ages of 24 and 53 years. Plasma testosterone -- LH and FSH -- were measured by radioimmunoassay. All measurements were performed in duplicate and samples from each individual were measured in the same assay. All values were in the normal range and there was no signficant change after surgery (compared to basal values) in any of the parameters measured. The data suggest that the decrease in free testosterone index and FSH reported by others at 1-week post-vasectomy is probably not related to the effects of psychological stress local anesthesia or surgical stress either singularly or in combination. (Summary in GER)
Working mechanisms of strain sensors utilizing aligned carbon nanotube network and aerosol jet printed electrodes

Abstract This paper reports on highly sensitive aligned carbon nanotube network (CNTN)-based strain sensors produced by aerosol jet printed electrodes and polyimide substrates. Two types of sensing mechanisms were revealed. Type A sensors, whose electrodes were directly printed on the CNTNs and embedded in epoxy resin, take advantage of the intrinsic piezoresistive properties of highly oriented carbon nanotube bundles and exhibited large positive gauge factor. Type B sensors, whose electrodes were printed on the polyimide substrate, utilize the effects of applied strains on the contact resistances between layers of the CNTN structure and between CNTN and the electrodes, exhibited large negative gauge factors. Type A and B sensors achieved positive and negative gauge factors up to 20 and 40 in magnitude, respectively. The high performance and flexible nature of the sensors, combined with the capability of scalable manufacturing processes, exhibits promising application potentials.
Experimental modelling of human spinal cord injury: a model that crosses the species barrier and mimics the spectrum of human cytopathology.

Study design: Literature review and presentation of an experimental model of human spinal cord injury, (SCI). Objectives: Experimental designs seek to mimic and model the physical processes by which human SCI occurs and replicate the variety of chronic pathologies that characterize its long term effects. The variations in biological processes that are present between species have contributed to recent difficulties in generalizing experimental findings to the human condition. In this review, one finds: (1) a discourse on the pathological nature of the chronic human lesion, (2) a consideration of how the physical properties of soft tissue injury result in acute and chronic changes in the spinal substance, (3) a description of a device (ESCID) that is able to replicate and dynamically monitor physical indices of SCI as they take place in experimental models, and (4) a summary of how use of this device in different species has allowed the biomechanical descriptors of such injuries to be easily compared even in murine models. Setting: Ohio State University, Ohio, USA. Results: Careful attention to the details of injury device design has finally allowed a direct comparison of contusion-type injury models in the rat and mouse. Biomechanical outcomes with predictive capabilities have evolved that allow the investigator to create the range of pathologies seen in the human lesion even in these small vertebrates. The predictive cytopathology and our ability to manipulate the mouse genome will allow the testing of specific hypotheses related to cause and effect in experimental spinal cord injuries. Since the biomechanics, pathology, and chronic outcomes appear to be similar to those seen in the human, these animal models should facilitate rapid progress in the design of human therapeutics. Conclusions: Biomechanics of certain elements of experimental spinal injury are surprisingly accurate descriptors of acute and chronic pathologies in the spinal cord. This tenet applies across species and has often allowed more accurate design of clinical trials in the past few decades. As molecular approaches to this problem evolve, the use of species with known genomes appear warranted. Models that take advantage of these approaches are likely to produce innovations that quicken the pace of human trial strategies.
Electrical and fluidic packaging of surface micromachined electromicrofluidic devices

Microfluidic devices have applications in chemical analysis, biomedical devices and ink-jets1. An integrated microfluidic system incorporates electrical signals on-chip. Such electro-microfluidic devices require fluidic and electrical connection to larger packages. Therefore electrical and fluidic packaging of electro-microfluidic devices is the key to the development of integrated microfluidic systems. Packaging is more challenging for surface micromachined devices than for larger bulk micromachined devices. However, because surface micromachining allows incorporation of electrical traces during microfluidic channel fabrication, a monolithic device results. A new architecture for packaging surface micromachined electro- microfluidic devices is presented. This architecture relies on two scales of packaging to bring fluid to the device scale (picoliters) from the macroscale (microliters). The architecture emulates and utilizes electronics packaging technology. The larger package consists of a circuit board with embedded fluidic channels and standard fluidic connectors. The embedded channels connect to the smaller package, an Electro-Microfluidic Dual-Inline-Package (EMDIP) that takes fluid to the microfluidic integrated circuit (MIC). The fluidic connection is made to the back of the MIC through Bosch2 etched holes that take fluid to surface micromachined channels on the front of the MIC. Electrical connection is made to bond pads on the front of the MIC.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Critical Difference Table for Word Recognition Testing Derived Using Computer Simulation

Purpose To construct a table for upper and lower limits of the 95% critical range for changes in word recognition scores obtained with monosyllabic word lists (of lengths 10, 25, 50, and 100 words) using newly available methods. Although such a table has been available for nearly 30 years (A. R. Thornton & M. J. M. Raffin, 1978), the earlier table was constructed by calculation and used an approximation to the variance of the difference score between 2 administrations of word lists of identical size. It has been used clinically, reproduced, and recommended for use by clinicians in handbooks and textbooks. Method The new table was created using computer simulation of the relevant distributions and a direct estimate of the variance of the difference score between 2 tests, calculated using the simulated results. Results The new table differed from the previous table in 23% of entries. Critical ranges were both narrowed (82%) and expanded (18%). No range changed by more than 1 word correct in any direction. T...
Transport of phosphate by plasma membranes of the jejunum and kidney of the mouse model of hypophosphatemic vitamin D-resistant rickets.

AbstractThe hypophosphatemic mouse is a useful model for the study of hypophosphatemic vitamin D-resistant rickets in humans. Hypophosphatemia and hyperphosphaturia are the main biochemical findings in the patients and in mice with the disorder. The exact membrane localization of the site of the defect in phosphate transport in humans is not known. We utilized a well-validated technique of brush border and basolateral membrane vesicles to investigate phosphate transport across the enterocyte and the renal tubule cells of the hypophosphatemic (Hyp) mice model. Phosphate uptake by brush border membranes of jejunal enterocytes revealed similar initial rates (slopes were 0.007 and 0.006 for Hyp and control mice, respectively). Kinetics of jejunal Na+-dependent phosphate uptake showed a Vmax of 0.21 ± 0.03 and 0.19 ± 0.02 nmol/mg protein/15 sec, and <Km of 0.12 ± 0.07 and 0.09 ± 0.02 mM in the Hyp and control mice, respectively. Kinetics of basolateral uptake of phosphate were also similar (Vmax of 0.05 ± 0.01...
Application of the EXAFS method to Jahn—Teller ions: static and dynamic behavior of Cu(H2O)62+ and Ci(H2O)2+6 in aqueous solution

Abstract EXAFS measurements have been made on the octahedral Jahn—Teller complexes, Cu(H 2 O) 6 2+ and Cr(H 2 O) 6 2+ , in aqueous solution. Two distinct metal—oxygen bond lengths are not clearly resolvable in the EXAFS Fourier transforms for each species; lengths and Deuye—Waller factors obtained suggest that the axial ligands are loosely bonded.
Assessing multiple object tracking in young children using a game

Visual tracking of multiple objects in a complex scene is a critical survival skill. When we attempt to safely cross a busy street, follow a ball’s position during a sporting event, or monitor children in a busy playground, we rely on our brain’s capacity to selectively attend to and track the position of specific objects in a dynamic scene. This ability to visually track simultaneously moving objects in a continuously changing and multisensory environment is a critical component of nearly all forms of visual-motor coordination. While methods for assessing Multiple Object Tracking (MOT) in adults are well established, due to challenges associated with designing a MOT task suitable for young children, we have little understanding of MOT abilities under the age of 5 years. To better understand how and when young children learn to track multiple objects, we designed, implemented and evaluated TrackFX, the first game-based MOT task running on a touch tablet designed for children as young as 30 months old. We present findings from an empirical study of 31 children between the age of 30 and 58 months and implications for game-based learning.