cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Critical Role of CalDAG-GEFI In FCγRIIa-Dependent Platelet Activation and Thrombosis

Abstract 3196 Immune-mediated thrombosis is a major cause of death in autoimmune diseases and contributes to complications in drug treatments (e.g. Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia). The major receptor on platelets for immunoglobulin-mediated activation is FcγRIIA. FcγRIIA signals through an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (ITAM) that leads to phospholipase C activation, which induces the release of calcium and diacylglycerol (DAG). In our previous work, we identified CalDAG-GEFI (calcium and DAG regulated guanine nucleotide exchange factor I) as a key component of collagen/ITAM-mediated platelet activation. In the current study, we evaluated if CalDAG-GEFI is a potential target for the intervention with FcγRIIA receptor dependent, immune-mediated thrombosis. Mice transgenic for the human FcγRIIA (hFCR) and deficient for CalDAG-GEFI-/- (hFCR/CDGFI-/-) were generated. In vitro, aggregation of hFCR/CDGFI-/- platelets required 50–100-fold higher concentrations of anti-CD9 antibodies than hFCR/WT controls. In comparison, inhibition of P2Y12, the target of clopidogrel, shifted the dose response curve for anti-CD9 in hFCR/WT platelets by only ∼2-fold. In addition to their aggregation defect, hFCR/CDGFI-/- platelets were characterized by markedly impaired Rap1 activation. To assess the role of CalDAG-GEFI in FcγRIIA -mediated thrombosis in vivo, we developed a model of antibody-mediated thrombosis, were we injected mice with an Alexa-750 labeled antibody against GPIX and extracted the lungs to visualize pulmonary thrombosis on a LICOR scanner. Anti-GPIX induced pulmonary thrombosis in hFCR mice but not in WT animals. Pretreatment with clopidogrel did not provide a substantial protection from thrombosis in hFCR mice. In contrast, no pulmonary thrombi were observed in hFCR/CDGFI-/- mice. Together, our studies are the first to highlight the importance of CalDAG-GEFI downstream of platelet Fc-receptor/ITAM signaling and suggest CalDAG-GEFI as a powerful new target in the intervention of immune-mediated thrombosis. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
National Epidemiology of Inpatient Venous Thromboembolism in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies in United States from 1993 to 2012

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with hematologic malignancies (HMs). The national burden of inpatient VTE in patients with HMs is not known. Methods: We used the National Inpatient Sample (NIS), one of the largest publicly-available inpatient dataset in United States (U.S.), which represents a 20% stratified random sample of discharges from all hospitals, excluding rehabilitation and long-term acute care hospitals. The NIS is drawn from all States participating in Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, representing more than 95 percent of the U.S. population. Discharge weights are used to generate national estimates. Patients with HMs were identified using ICD9 codes published by NIS and VTE was defined by ICD9 codes 451 - 453 and 415.1. Annual rates of inpatient VTE were calculated from 1993 to 2012 by HM type. Multivariate odds of inpatient VTE was determined by logistic regression controlling for confounders (age, sex, Charlson co-morbidity index, metastasis, chemotherapy, transfusion of blood products, major operating room procedure, primary hypercoagulable state, disseminated intravascular coagulation, heparin induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis, antiphospholipid syndrome, obesity and calendar year). The malignancies with non-specific designation (e.g. unspecified leukemia) or with less than 1000 patients (weighted number) were excluded from results. Results: 8.42million hospitalized patients (weighted number) with HMs were identified, and 335,240had VTE (3.98%). In patients with HMs, rates of inpatient VTE increased from 2.59% to 5.22% between 1993 and 2012 (p Conclusions: Our study provides national estimates of inpatient VTE in HM, which are increasing over the last 20 years. Certain HMs have higher rates and odds of VTE as compared to others. Identification of these differences provides valuable information for the use of prophylaxis in HM with high risk of VTE. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
On Measures of Non-Integrability of Pfaffian Systems

Abstract Many problems in nonlinear control theory (like, for instance, feedback linearization problem) leed to examination of integrability of a Pfaffian system. In a generic case a Pfaffian system is not integrable. Therefore, how to approximate non-integrable Pfafian systems by integrable ones and how this approximation can applied in practice appears to be a natural and important problem. In the present paper we establish some measures of non-integrability of Pfaffian system of arbitrary dimension and discuss their relation to approximations of non-integrable Pfaffian systems by integrable ones. Our work is motivated by expected applications to approximate feedback linearization of multi-input nonlinear systems.
Using Twitter Language to Predict the Real Estate Market.

We explore whether social media can provide a window into community real estate -foreclosure rates and price changes- beyond that of traditional economic and demographic variables. We find language use in Twitter not only predicts real estate outcomes as well as traditional variables across counties, but that including Twitter language in traditional models leads to a significant improvement (e.g. from Pearson r = :50 to r = :59 for price changes). We overcome the challenge of the relative sparsity and noise in Twitter language variables by showing that training on the residual error of the traditional models leads to more accurate overall assessments. Finally, we discover that it is Twitter language related to business (e.g. ‘company’, ‘marketing’) and technology (e.g. ‘technology’, ‘internet’), among others, that yield predictive power over economics.
American Organic: A Cultural History of Farming, Gardening, Shopping, and Eating

Review of: "American Organic: A Cultural History of Farming, Gardening, Shopping, and Eating," by Robin O’Sullivan.
Charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in pPb collisions with CMS experiment

Abstract Charge-dependent azimuthal correlations relative to the event plane in AA collisions have been suggested as providing evidence for the chiral magnetic effect (CME) caused by local strong parity violation. However, the observation of the CME remains inconclusive because of several possible sources of background correlations that may account for part or all of the observed signals. This talk will present the first application of three-particle, charge-dependent azimuthal correlation analysis in proton-nucleus collisions, using pPb data collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC at s N N = 5.02 TeV . The differences found in comparing same and opposite sign correlations are studied as a function of event multiplicity and the pseudorapidity gap between two of the particles detected in the CMS tracker detector. After selecting events with comparable charge-particle multiplicities, the results for pPb collisions are found to be similar to those for PbPb collisions collected at the same collision energy. With a reduced magnetic field strength and a random field orientation in high multiplicity pPb events, the CME contribution to any charge separation signal is expected to be much smaller than found in peripheral PbPb events. These results pose a challenge for the interpretation of charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in heavy ion collisions in terms of the chiral magnetic effect.
Financial Literacy and Academics: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract: Using a critical discourse analysis (CDA), we explore the experience of adult education and business academics educating new parents for financial literacy. Informed by poststructuralism, CDA helps to examine the social relations of power operating in knowledge dissemination processes, especially as they affect adult educators, accountants, community partners, new parents, funding agencies, and government. We analyze our own engagement in this financial program, highlighting our complicities and resistances, especially the ways in which we wittingly and knowingly become academic lackeys for our government.
Evolved sequence features within the intrinsically disordered tail influence FtsZ assembly and bacterial cell division

Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) challenge the well-established sequence-structure-function paradigm for describing protein function and evolution. Here, we direct a combination of biophysical and cellular studies to further our understanding of how the intrinsically disordered C-terminal tail of FtsZ contributes to cell division in rod-shaped bacteria. FtsZ is a modular protein that encompasses a conserved GTPase domain and a highly variable intrinsically disordered C-terminal tail (CTT). The CTT is essential for forming the cytokinetic Z-ring. Despite poor sequence conservation of the CTT, the patterning of oppositely charged residues, which refers to the extent of linear mixing / segregation of oppositely charged residues within CTT sequences is bounded within a narrow range. To assess the impact of evolutionary bounds on charge patterning within CTT sequences we performed experiments, aided by sequence design, to quantify the impact of changing the patterning of oppositely charged residues within the CTT on the functions of FtsZ from B. subtilis. Z-ring formation is robust if and only if the extent of linear mixing / segregation of oppositely charged residues within the CTT sequences is within evolutionarily observed bounds. Otherwise, aberrant, CTT-mediated, FtsZ assemblies impair Z-ring formation. The complexities of CTT sequences also have to be above a threshold value because FtsZ variants with low complexity CTTs are not tolerated in cells. Taken together, our results suggest that CTT sequences have evolved to be just right and that this is achieved through an optimal extent of charge patterning while maintaining the sequence complexity above a threshold value.
The Mistaken Diagnosis of Child Abuse: A Three-Year USAF Medical Center Analysis and Literature Review

Medical personnel who evaluate children for child abuse and neglect (CAN) must be familiar with the many pediatric conditions that resemble CAN in order to avoid over reporting. During a 3-year period, a total of 504 suspected child abuse patients were evaluated by our CAN team. After preliminary evaluation, 264 (52%) of these cases were unsubstantiated. Eighteen of these 264 (7%) were initially considered as cases of CAN but were later proven to be conditions that were misdiagnosed as CAN. Thirteen of the 18 (72%) were readily diagnosed after consultation with a pediatrician or other health care consultant. Investigation of the remaining 5 patients (29%) was more difficult and more extensive, requiring a period of separation from the parents with consequent emotional hardship to the family. These conditions included (1) a patient with osteogenesis imperfecta type IV, (2) a patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, (3) two patients with benign external hydrocephaly of infancy, and (4) a patient with Crohn's disease, who was evaluated for sexual abuse because of chronic abdominal pain. A comprehensive literature review of pediatric conditions that may mimic CAN is presented by diagnostic categories to assist clinicians in differentiating medical conditions that may simulate CAN. Methods to support parents who have been incorrectly reported are discussed.
Analysis and Mitigation of TSV-Induced Substrate Noise

TSVs are a major source of substrate noise that threatens the performance of neighboring devices. In addition, TSV noise increases leakage current, which increases static power consumption and can erroneously switch transistors off or on [91]. A “keep out” zone, specified through layout rules, is thus required to shield devices from neighboring TSVs.
Chronic prescribed burning alters nutrient deposition and sediment stoichiometry in a lake ecosystem

Prescribed fire is a common management practice for forests and other terrestrial environments. Following a prescribed burn, ash erodes into aquatic environments potentially altering terrestrial–aquatic connectivity and water quality. In this study, we collected a sediment core from Ocean Pond, FL, USA, a lake that has received fire ash from decades of prescribed burning events. Paleolimnological measurements of macrocharcoal, nutrients, stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N), and photosynthetic pigments were used to reconstruct fire regimes, material inputs, and lake primary producer responses for periods of prescribed burns and other lake periods throughout the last 6000 years. Results show that the period of repeated modern-prescribed fires coincided with decreased C and N depositions in the lake, while P deposition increased causing alterations to nutrient storage and stoichiometry. However, photosynthetic pigments indicated low primary producer abundance during the prescribed fire period. These changes in nutrient dynamics could provide new insights into biogeochemical pathways in land–water connected systems where burning has not been considered.
Computer-aided image analysis of crayfish bitemarks — reinterpreting evidence: A case report

Abstract The discipline of forensic odontology is at a crossroads with the application of bitemark evidence in the court of law. In the last decade, the increase in the number of cases in which bitemarks were the ‘smoking gun’ to a conviction being appealed and verdicts reverse is alarming and due in a large part to the lack of validated rules and scientific rigor needed to evaluate this evidence objectively. In some cases, post-mortem trauma to human remains has been misinterpreted as human bitemarks. This case report illustrates how bitemarks misinterpreted as human-caused were reevaluated by a computerized imaging analytical method and determined to be consistent with those caused by crayfish scavenging on the remains. Fetal pigs were exposed to crayfish native to the crime scene for a period of 72 h. Crayfish bitemarks on the pigs were compared to marks on the victim and the bite width of the crayfish and found to be statistically the same. These findings led to the exoneration of the convicted individual. Such computer-aided pattern recognition protocols are necessary in traditional forensic identification sciences such as forensic odontology to minimize biased conclusions by extraneous evidence and preconceived assumptions and replace subjective guesswork with sound scientific protocols.
L’auge de l’antifeixisme contrarevolucionari als Estats Units, des de la Conferència de Munic fins a la caiguda de França

L’antifeixisme fa que el treball o la lluita contra el feixisme sigui la maxima prioritat, i dos tipus basics d’antifeixisme van sorgir a Europa i America del Nord del 1936 al 1945. El primer va ser revolucionari; el segon era conservador i fins i tot contrarevolucionari. Des de l’Acord de Munic fins a la caiguda de Franca i davant d’una forta oposicio aillamentista, els antifeixistes contrarevolucionistes nord-americans –que solen ser titllats d’intervencionistes a la historiografia– van articular a un public cada cop mes simpatic com els regims feixistes posaven en perill la seguretat nacional i la forma de vida dels Estats Units.
An engineered oncolytic virus expressing PD-L1 inhibitors activates tumor neoantigen-specific T cell responses

Oncolytic viruses offer an in situ vaccination approach to activate tumor-specific T cell responses. However, the upregulation of PD-L1 expression on tumor cells and immune cells leads to tumor resistance to oncolytic immunotherapy. In this study, we generate an engineered oncolytic virus that coexpresses a PD-L1 inhibitor and GM-CSF. We find that the oncolytic virus is able to secrete the PD-L1 inhibitor that systemically binds and inhibits PD-L1 on tumor cells and immune cells. Importantly, the intratumoral injection with the oncolytic virus overcomes PD-L1-mediated immunosuppression during both the priming and effector phases, provokes systemic T cell responses against dominant and subdominant neoantigen epitopes derived from mutations, and leads to an effective rejection of both virus-injected and distant tumors. In summary, this engineered oncolytic virus is able to activate tumor neoantigen-specific T cell responses, providing a potent, individual tumor-specific oncolytic immunotherapy for cancer patients, especially those resistant to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapy. Oncolytic viruses can activate tumor neoantigen-specific T cell responses. However, PD-L1 upregulation on tumor cells and immune cells leads to tumor resistance to this immunotherapy approach. Here, the authors develop an oncolytic virus which expresses both a PD-L1 inhibitor and GM-CSF which allows an improved tumor neoantigen-specific T cell response in preclinical models.
Using Digital Microscopes in an Online Lab

One of the central ideas behind microbiology is to see images that are not available to the naked eye. Through the use of digital microscopes, students in online courses can have exposure to those images, but the ability to view images of samples produced by the students is something that is not typically or easily replicated in an online course. The high cost of good-quality optical microscopes and the difficulty of using complex microscopes independently and communicating results are barriers to including this in an online lab course. Through the use of a lower-cost digital microscope that is easy to use, students are able to enjoy the experience of viewing images of microbes from their own sample and preparation.
Differences in OCD symptom presentations across age, culture, and gender: A quantitative review of studies using the Y-BOCS symptom checklist

Abstract Presentations of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been found to differ between patients of different ages, cultures, and genders, but inconsistent findings have limited our understanding of how these demographic factors influence the expression of OCD. To address this gap, the present review utilized data from 51 studies (N = 9404 OCD patients) to determine how the frequencies of OCD presentations from the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Symptom Checklist differed across patient samples from different age groups (adults versus children), cultural regions (United States/Europe, South America, South Africa, Asia, and the Middle East) and gender compositions (proportions of males and females in the sample). For age-group comparisons, virtually all presentations were more common in child relative to adult OCD patients, but most differences disappeared when controlling for the total number of presentations endorsed in each sample. Similarly, while all presentation varied significantly across cultural regions, differences were again more modest when controlling for total OCD presentations, which also revealed symmetry obsessions and ordering compulsions to be the only presentations with frequencies that did not significantly differ across cultures. Finally, no symptom presentation covaried with sample gender composition except for sexual obsessions, which were more commonly endorsed in samples with more male patients. Collectively, these results indicate that OCD’s major subtypes are fairly universal across different age groups, cultures, and genders and suggest that presentational differences across these demographics in previous OCD studies may have derived partly from disparities in nonspecific factors that altered the frequency of multiple OCD presentations.
The Impact of COVID-19-based Suspension of Surgeries on Plastic Surgery Practices: A Survey of ACAPS Members

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a drastic decline in the number of elective surgeries performed in the United States Many national societies and local governments provided recommendations for surgeons to initially suspend and progressively resume elective surgery The authors used a survey to the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons (ACAPS) to assess the effect on plastic surgeons METHODS: An electronic survey questionnaire was distributed to 532 members of ACAPS Data on individual and plastic surgery practice demographics, COVID-19 prevention measures, and procedures or services that were being performed or delayed were collected and analyzed RESULTS: An estimated 161 members (30 2%) completed the survey Changes in hospital policy were cited as the most common reason (89%) for determining which procedures were currently offered Results vary by specialty Notably, <10% of respondents who normally offered aesthetic procedures currently offered any procedures during the survey Subspecialty-specific results and prevention measures when seeing clinic patients are further summarized and discussed CONCLUSIONS: Plastic surgeons have seen a drastic decrease in the variety of procedures and services they are allowed to offer during the COVID-19 pandemic To help plan a return to normalcy, surgeons should create and implement plans to protect patients and staff from coronavirus transmission, assure financial solvency, and consider the effects of delayed surgeries on both the physical and mental health of their patients In doing so, surgeons and their patients will be better prepared in the event of a resurgence of the virus
IOX1 Suppresses Wnt Target Gene Transcription and Colorectal Cancer Tumorigenesis through Inhibition of KDM3 Histone Demethylases

Epigenetic activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays a critical role in Wnt-induced tumorigenesis, notably in colorectal cancers. KDM3 and KDM4 histone demethylases have been reported to promote oncogenic Wnt signaling through demethylation of H3K9 on Wnt target gene promoters and are suggested to be potential therapeutic targets. However, potent inhibitors for these regulators are still not available. In addition, which family is most responsible for activation of Wnt target genes and Wnt-induced oncogenesis is not well documented, specifically in colorectal cancer. In this study, we characterized the functional redundancy and differences between KDM3 and KDM4 in regard to regulating Wnt signaling. Our data suggest that KDM3 may play a more essential role than KDM4 in regulating oncogenic Wnt signaling in human colorectal cancer. We also identified that IOX1, a known histone demethylase inhibitor, significantly suppresses Wnt target gene transcription and colorectal cancer tumorigenesis. Mechanistically, IOX1 inhibits the enzymatic activity of KDM3 by binding to the Jumonji C domain and thereby preventing the demethylation of H3K9 on Wnt target gene promoters. Taken together, our data not only identified the critical mechanisms by which IOX1 suppressed Wnt/β-catenin signaling and colorectal cancer tumorigenesis through inhibition of KDM3, but also suggested that IOX1 may represent an attractive small molecule lead for future drug design and discovery.
Physical protection regulates microbial thermal responses to chronic soil warming

Abstract Climate warming can affect the temperature sensitivity of microbial activity and growth efficiency, possibly explained by changes to microbially unavailable carbon (C) protected within in soil aggregates. We assessed physical protection by crushing macroaggregates (250–2000 μm) and microaggregates (
An Overview of Anxiety, Trauma-Related and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Anxiety, trauma-related and obsessive-compulsive disorders are relatively common in older adults, and may go undetected, with potential negative physical, psychological, and psychosocial consequences. These mental health conditions are frequently comorbid with medical, cognitive, and other psychiatric disorders. Screening in primary care settings is an essential first step in recognition and diagnosis. The American Geriatrics Society published the Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults in 2019. The recommendations provide pharmacological guidance in older adults; given side effect profiles, careful consideration before initiating pharmacological interventions in anxiety, trauma-related and obsessive-compulsive disorders is indicated. Psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments are effective in managing symptoms associated with anxiety, trauma-related, and obsessive-compulsive disorders; psychosocial interventions are often beneficial treatment adjuncts. Shared decision-making between providers and older patients is recommended for optimal management. A referral to a mental health specialist is indicated if older patients do not respond to first-line treatments or if the provider does not feel comfortable managing the patient’s symptomatology.
Phase I monitoring of individual normal data: Design and implementation

Control charts play an important role in Phase I or retrospective studies, which are essential to establish stability and generate reference data necessary for calculation of prospective (Phase II)...
On Tolerance Analysis of Games with Belief Revision

Aumann’s Rationality Theorem claims that in perfect information games, common knowledge of rationality yields backward induction (BI). Stalnaker argued that in the belief revision setting, BI does not follow from Aumann’s assumptions. However, as shown by Artemov, if common knowledge of rationality is understood in the robust sense, i.e., if players do not forfeit their knowledge of rationality even hypothetically, then BI follows. A more realistic model would bound the number of hypothetical non-rational moves by player i that can be tolerated without revising the belief in i’s rationality on future moves. We show that in the presence of common knowledge of rationality, if n hypothetical non-rational moves by any player are tolerated, then each game of length less than 2n + 3 yields BI, and that this bound on the length of model is tight for each n. In particular, if one error per player is tolerated, i.e., n = 1, then games of length up to 4 are BI games, whereas there is a game of length 5 with a non-BI solution.
Regional inversion in the United States: The institutional context for the rise of the Sunbelt since the 1940s

The United States experienced a very radical process of regional change during the second half of the twentieth century. A process of regional inversion, whereby lagging areas displace predominant regions as the most important national sources of economic and political power, was a major characteristic of US regional change. This phenomenon involved much fragmentation and decentralisation, as local and regional areas pursued their own competitive interests in the search for resources and capital. This paper provides, first, an overview of the US institutional context and its relationship with regional development, considering its most important characteristics and the factors that shaped development efforts since the late 1940s. The rise of the US Sunbelt, the most important regional phenomenon of the past five decades, is subsequently addressed. Its rising national influence overshadowed the previously predominant position of the Northeastern and Midwestern regions. Two important but much neglected factors that helped provide a platform upon which the process of regional inversion occurred, infrastructure and human capital development, are reviewed and illustrated. Contrasts with the Western European context are also considered, to provide some perspective on the institutional characteristics that shaped the rise of the US Sunbelt.
Secondary Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies from Cosmological Reionization

We use numerical simulations of cosmological reionization to calculate the secondary CMB anisotropies in a representative flat low-density cosmological model. We show that the kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (scattering off of moving electrons in the ionized intergalactic medium) is dominated by the nonlinear hydrodynamic and gravitational evolution of the density and velocity fields, rather than the detailed distribution of the ionization fraction ("patchy reionization") on all angular scales. Combining our results with the recent calculation of secondary CMB anisotropies by Springel et al., we are able to accurately predict the power spectrum of the kinetic SZ effect on almost all angular scales.
On the modeling of long wavelength systematic errors in surface gravimetric data

A satellite-only model and a set of 1°x1° area-mean terrestrial gravity anomalies were used to estimate simultaneously geopotential coefficients to degree and order 70 and a set of spherical harmonic coefficients representing regional systematic errors in the gravity data. Several test solutions were developed whereby the weighting of the gravity data and the maximum degree and order of the systematic bias coefficient set were varied. The results were evaluated using both internal consistency statistics (e.g., a posteriors signal and error statistics, calibration factors) and comparisons with independent data (orbit fits, comparisons with GPS/leveling-derived geoid undulations). The global RMS error correlation between geopotential and bias coefficients was 6.7% for an unconstrained bias expansion to degree 20, and 7.8% for an expansion to degree 25, where an a priori constraint on the bias parameters was also employed. The bias expansion to degree 25 resulted in a slight degradation of the results from comparisons with GPS1leveling-derived geoid undulations or height anomalies. Optimization of this technique requires additional tests, especially with regard to terrestrial data weighting issues. Future satellite missions (e.g., CHAMP, GRACE and GOCE) will permit bias recovery at finer resolution, thereby improving the ovesrall effectiveness of this technique.
Going Beyond the Problem Given: How Human Tutors Use Post-practice Discussions to Support Transfer

Recent studies reveal that human tutoring sessions do not always end when the student has solved a problem. Instead, tutors and students frequently use a post-practice discussion to bring new topics to the table or to continue problem-solving discussions. One of the main roles of post-practice dialogues is to support transfer--that is, the student's ability to apply concepts and adapt familiar solution strategies to unfamiliar problems. Several developers of intelligent tutoring systems have implemented post-practice modules, with similar aims. However, in contrast to the integrated instructional planning that human tutors apparently perform, automated planning of reflective activities is typically done independently of instructional planning during problem solving. We present a framework for describing reflective plans that are distributed between problem solving and debrief and evidence that reflective discussions support transfer in elementary mechanics.
GTP- and Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate-activated Intracellular Calcium Movements in Neuronal and Smooth Muscle Cell Lines*

Recent evidence has revealed that a highly sensitive and specific guanine nucleotide regulatory process controls intracellular Ca2+ release within N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells (Gill, D. L., Ueda, T., Chueh, S. H., and Noel, M. W. (1986) Nature 320, 461-464). The present report documents GTP-induced Ca2+ release within quite distinct cell types, including the DDT1MF-2 smooth muscle cell line. GTP-induced Ca2+ release has similar GTP sensitivity and specificity among cells and rapidly mobilizes up to 70% of Ca2+ specifically accumulated within a nonmitochondrial Ca2+-pumping organelle within permeabilized DDT2MF-2 cells. Maximal GTP-induced release of Ca2+ is observed to be greater than inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-induced Ca2+ release (the latter being approximately 30% of total releasable Ca2+). After maximal IP3-induced release, further IP3 addition is ineffective, whereas subsequent addition of GTP further releases Ca2+ to equal exactly the extent of Ca2+ release observed by addition of GTP in the absence of IP3. This suggests that IP3 releases Ca2+ from the same pool as GTP, whereas GTP also releases from an additional pool. The effects of GTP appear to be reversible since simple washing of GTP-treated cells restores their previous Ca2+ uptake properties. Electron microscopic analysis of GTP-treated membrane vesicles reveals their morphology to be unchanged, whereas treatment of vesicles with 3% polyethylene glycol, known to enhance GTP-mediated Ca2+ release, clearly induces close coalescence of membranes. In the presence of 4 mM oxalate, GTP induces a rapid and profound uptake, as opposed to release, of Ca2+. The findings suggest that GTP-activated Ca2+ movement is a widespread phenomenon among cells, which can function on the same Ca2+ pool mobilized by IP3, and although activating Ca2+ movement by a mechanism distinct from IP3, does so via a process that does not appear to involve fusion between membranes.
PolyLens: a recommender system for groups of users

We present PolyLens, a new collaborative filtering recommender system designed to recommend items for groups of users, rather than for individuals. A group recommender is more appropriate and useful for domains in which several people participate in a single activity, as is often the case with movies and restaurants. We present an analysis of the primary design issues for group recommenders, including questions about the nature of groups, the rights of group members, social value functions for groups, and interfaces for displaying group recommendations. We then report on our PolyLens prototype and the lessons we learned from usage logs and surveys from a nine-month trial that included 819 users We found that users not only valued group recommendations, but were willing to yield some privacy to get the benefits of group recommendations Users valued an extension to the group recommender system that enabled them to invite non-members to participate, via email
Multi target direction-of-arrival tracking using road priors

In this paper, we present a multi target particle filter DOA tracker that can incorporate road prior information at a single array node. The filter uses a batch of DOA's to determine the state vector, based on an image template matching idea. The filter likelihood is derived with the joint probability density association principles so that no DOA measurement is associated to more than one target. The filter state update has the target DOA, the target velocity over range ratio, and the target heading parameters. We present two approaches for incorporating the road information. In the first approach, the road prior is injected at the weighting stage of the tracker, where a raised mixture Gaussian distribution, derived from the road headings at the target DOA, constraints the particles. The second approach is based on modifying the state update function with a compound model, where a mixture of the constant velocity model and the road information is used. In this case, the filter uses an online EM algorithm to update the state vector along with the mixture components. Computer simulations demonstrate the performance of the approaches.
Motor unit number estimates

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the various motor unit number estimation (MUNE) methods and their application to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The development of electromyography and nerve conduction studies as routine tools for clinical assessment is linked to the application of these studies to patients with motor neuron disorders. Currently, the two most applicable methods are the statistical and multiple point stimulation (MPS) methods, although continued research in motor unit decomposition may yield a method that is rapid, non-invasive, and provides a reliable motor unit estimate. The methods of MUNE have theoretical limitations or assumptions that must be fulfilled for the estimates generated to be valid. They also vary in the time required to perform the study, patient discomfort, and level of complexity of required instrumentation or software. In the laboratory, MUNE is established as a useful tool for evaluating potential therapies in the preclinical stage. Currently, MUNE is being used as a secondary outcome measure in two multicenter therapeutic trials in ALS. Results from these studies will have a profound impact on how MUNE will be utilized in the future, both in clinical ALS trials and in the assessment of individual patients.
Nonlinear dynamics: Spontaneous synchrony breaking

Research on synchronization of coupled oscillators has helped explain how uniform behaviour emerges in populations of non-uniform systems. But explaining how uniform populations engage in 'chimera states' — states of sustainable non-uniform synchronization — may prove to be just as fascinating.
Posttranslational regulatory system for nitrogenase activity in Azospirillum spp.

Abstract The mechanism for "NH4+ switch-off/on" of nitrogenase activity in Azospirillum brasilense and A. lipoferum was investigated. A correlation was established between the in vivo regulation of nitrogenase activity by NH4Cl or glutamine and the reversible covalent modification of dinitrogenase reductase. Dinitrogenase reductase ADP-ribosyltransferase (DRAT) activity was detected in extracts of A. brasilense with NAD as the donor molecule. Dinitrogenase reductase-activating glycohydrolase (DRAG) activity was present in extracts of both A. brasilense and A. lipoferum. The DRAG activity in A. lipoferum was membrane associated, and it catalyzed the activation of inactive nitrogenase (by covalent modification of dinitrogenase reductase) from both A. lipoferum and Rhodospirillum rubrum. A region homologous to R. rubrum draT and draG was identified in the genomic DNA of A. brasilense as a 12-kilobase EcoRI fragment and in A. lipoferum as a 7-kilobase EcoRI fragment. It is concluded that a posttranslational regulatory system for nitrogenase activity is present in A. brasilense and A. lipoferum and that it operates via ADP-ribosylation of dinitrogenase reductase as it does in R. rubrum.
Arterial roadway energy/emissions estimation using modal-based trajectory reconstruction

With increased traffic congestion and concern with its impacts on fuel consumption and emissions, it is important to have reliable methods of estimating these impacts for a wide variety of traffic scenarios. Estimating traffic energy/emissions for uninterrupted flow (e.g., highways) is fairly well established; however, for roadways with interrupted flow (e.g., arterial corridors with traffic signals), the estimation problem is much more difficult. In this paper, we propose a modal-based trajectory reconstruction method that takes advantage of new wireless traffic sensors. This method first generates approximate vehicle trajectories on arterial links with traffic lights by explicitly modeling driving modes such as steady-state cruise, acceleration, deceleration, and idle. Then, these approximated trajectories are run through a microscopic energy/emissions model to estimate overall energy/emission impacts. This method has been tested on a real-world testbed arterial corridor. It is shown to estimate energy/emissions well within 10% of actual values, compared to standard speed-emission curve techniques that are only within 40% of the actual values.
Effects of ionic strength and sulfhydryl reagents on the binding of creatine phosphokinase to heart mitochondrial inner membranes.

The concept that creatine phosphokinase is bound to the outer surface of the heart mitochondrial inner membrane originated from observations that the enzyme is retained by water-swollen heart mitochondria and by digitonintreated heart mitochondria suspended in isotonic sucrose. The present study establishes that digitonin-treated mitochondria release creatine phosphokinase in isotonic KCl, and other investigators have reported an identical response for the water-swollen organelles. These observations suggest that mitochondrial creatine phosphokinase is not bound to the outer surface of the inner membrane at a site adjacent to the adenine nucleotide translocase under physiologic conditions.
Optical modulation from an electro-optic polymer based hybrid Fabry-Pérot étalon using transparent conducting oxides

Fabry-Perot etalons using electro-optic (EO) organic materials can be used for devices such as tunable filters and spatial light modulators (SLM's) for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) communication systems 1-5 and ultrafast imaging systems. For these applications the SLM's need to have: (i) low insertion loss, (ii) high speed operation, and (iii) large modulation depth with low drive voltage. Recently, there have been three developments which together can enhance the SLM performance to a higher level. First, low loss distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirrors are now used in SLM's to replace thin metal mirrors, resulting in reduced transmission loss, high reflectivity (>99%) and high finesse. Second, EO polymer materials have shown excellent properties for wide bandwidth optical modulation for information technology due to their fabrication flexibility, compatibility with high speed operation, and large EO coefficients at telecommunication wavelengths. For instance, the EO polymer AJL8/APC (AJL8: nonlinear optical chromophore, and APC: amorphous polycarbonate has recently been incorporated into waveguide modulators and achieved good performance for optical modulation. Finally, very low loss transparent conducting oxide (TCO) electrodes have drawn increasing attention for applications in optoelectronic devices. Here we will address how the low loss indium oxide (In 2 O 3 ) electrodes with an absorption coefficient ~1000/cm and conductivity ~204 S/cm can help improve the modulation performance of EO polymer Fabry-Perot etalons using the advanced electro-optic (EO) polymer material (AJL8/APC). A hybrid etalon structure with one highly conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode outside the etalon cavity and one low-absorption In 2 O 3 electrode inside etalon cavity has been demonstrated. High finesse (~234), improved effective applied voltage ratio (~0.25), and low insertion loss (~4 dB) have been obtained. A 10 dB isolation ratio and ~10% modulation depth at 200 kHz with only 5 V applied voltage have been achieved. These results indicate that such etalons are very promising candidates for ultrafast spatial light modulation in information technology.
Antigen-Specific Regulation of T Cell–Mediated Cytokine Production

We are grateful to Annette Lord for excellent secretarial support. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant AI-27028. This is manuscript number 12953-NP from the Scripps Research Institute.
Overdentures for treatment of severe attrition

This treatment of dentinogenesis imperfecta presented many problems because of the severe attrition of the existing teeth. An overdenture may be used in similar situations of extreme attrition.
Cheek pouch use in relation to interspecific competition and predator risk for three guenon monkeys (Cercopithecus spp.).

Forest guenons (Cercopithecus spp.) are often found in polyspecific associations that may decrease predator risk while increasing interspecific competition for food. Cheek pouch use may mitigate interspecific competition and predator risk by reducing the time spent in areas of high competition/predator risk. I investigated these ideas in three forest guenons: Campbell’s monkey (Cercopithecus campbelli), spot-nosed monkey (C. petaurista), and Diana monkey (C. diana). I present 13 months of scan sample data from Tai Forest, Cote d’Ivoire, including 3,675, 3,330, and 5,689 records of cheek pouch distention, to quantify cheek pouch use, for Campbell’s, spot-nosed, and Diana monkeys, respectively. Cheek pouches are often used to hold fruit, so I first predicted that the most frugivorous species, Diana monkeys, would have the most cheek pouch distension. Spot-nosed monkeys ate the least amount of fruit over the study period and had the least distended cheek pouches, suggesting the importance of frugivory in relation to cheek pouch distension for this species. This was not a sufficient explanation for Campbell’s monkeys; Campbell’s ate fruit less than Diana monkeys, but had more distended cheek pouches, suggesting that cheek pouch use was not simply a reflection of high frugivory. From the interspecific competition hypothesis, I predicted that Campbell’s monkeys would have more distended cheek pouches than Diana and spot-nosed monkeys, and more distended cheek pouches when associated with Diana because Campbell’s monkeys have the highest potential for interspecific competition with dominant Diana monkeys. From the predator risk hypothesis, I predicted that Campbell’s would have more distended cheek pouches when not associated with highly vigilant Diana monkeys. Campbell’s monkeys had the most distended cheek pouches overall, but had more distended cheek pouches when not in association with Diana, suggesting the greater importance of predator risk rather than interspecific competition in Campbell’s cheek pouch use.
Development of polymorphic microsatellite markers for blue king crab (Paralithodes platypus)

We isolated and characterized a total of 23 microsatellite loci from the blue king crab, Paralithodes platypus. Loci were screened in 24 individuals from St. Matthew Island. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 17, observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.050 to 1.000, and the probability of identity values ranged from 0.015 to 0.339. These new loci will provide tools for examining the genetic population structure of the species throughout its range.
A computational linearization principle for observability of nonlinear DAEs near a trajectory

We establish a result on local observability of nonlinear implicit differential systems near a reference trajectory. Observability of the time varying linearization along the trajectory implies local observability for the full system in a neighborhood of the trajectory. The conditions for local observability are verifiable by symbolic and numerical linear algebra, and provide a link with existing results on observability for implicit systems.
On the significance level of the multirelation coefficient

The concept of the multirelation coefficient is defined to describe the closeness of a set of variables to a linear relation. This concept extends the linear correlation between two variables to two or more variables. Parameters of a beta distribution are determined that are utilized to approximate significance levels of the multirelation coefficient for any given number of observations and variables. A generalized Student t distribution is defined. This distribution, which is termed the multirelated t distribution, reduces to the Student t distribution for two variables. It is useful in the determination of the significance level of the multirelation coefficient.
Structural features and biochemical properties of TNF-α converting enzyme (TACE)

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha is a potent cytokine, secreted primarily by activated monocytes and macrophages, that possesses a broad range of immunomodulating properties. Involvement of this cytokine has been validated in disease states such as arthritis and Crohn's disease and implicated in diverse neuroimmunological pathologies such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimers and stroke. TNF-alpha is initially synthesized as a 26 kDa precursor molecule that is subsequently processed to the mature form by cleavage of the Ala76 Val77 bond. The 17 kDa carboxy-terminal protein is then secreted to function in a paracrine manner. The enzyme that processes precursor TNF-alpha has previously been identified as a microsomal metalloprotease called TNF-alpha converting enzyme (TACE). We have now purified and partially cloned the enzyme. TACE represents a novel target for therapeutic intervention in a variety of inflammatory and neuroimmunological diseases.