cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integrating facility layout with process selection and capacity planning

Abstract In planning a manufacturing system, many basic system design decisions are required. Included are selecting a manufacturing technology for each product type (process selection), determining maximum production levels of each product type (capacity planning), and locating production resources and routing of products to required resources (facility layout). In this paper, we examine the importance of integrating these decisions. Advantages of the integrated approach are illustrated. A mixed-integer mathematical formulation for the integrated model is suggested. The structure of the model shows how the overall problem can be decomposed as well as the interactions between the decision problems. A heuristic is proposed for the mathematical program and its performance is examined on several test problems. The quadratic assignment problem is shown to be a simple case of the integrated model.
MEKK4 Mediates Differentiation in Response to Retinoic Acid via Activation of c-Jun N-terminal Kinase in Rat Embryonal Carcinoma P19 Cells

Differentiation of P19 embryonal carcinoma cells in response to the morphogen retinoic acid is regulated by Gα12/13 and is associated with activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase. The role of MEKK1 and MEKK4 upstream of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase was investigated in P19 cells. P19 clones stably expressing constitutively active and dominant negative mutants of MEKK1 and MEKK4 were created and characterized. Expression of the constitutively active form of either MEKK1 or MEKK4 mimicked the action of retinoic acid, inducing these embryonal carcinoma cells to primitive endoderm. Expression of the dominant negative form of MEKK1 had no influence on the ability of retinoic acid to induce either JNK activation or primitive endoderm formation in P19 stem cells. Expression of the dominant negative form of MEKK4, in contrast, effectively blocks both morphogen-induced activation of JNK and cellular differentiation. These data identify MEKK4 as upstream of c-Jun N-terminal kinase in the pathway mediating differentiation of P19 stem cells to primitive endoderm.
Sexual Function and Childbirth

OBJECTIVE This manuscript reviews the potential impact of cesarean delivery on maternal sexual function. FINDING The majority of new mothers resume intercourse within the first 3 months after delivery. However, during the first year after delivery, the majority of women experience at least one problem related to sexual function. The question with respect to maternal-choice cesarean is whether this obstetrical intervention affects maternal sexual function. We review the available evidence regarding sexual function after cesarean delivery and present several plausible mechanisms by which route of delivery could impact long-term postpartum sexual function. CONCLUSION Further research is needed to investigate whether maternal-choice cesarean delivery affects female sexual function.
The rise and fall of breakpoint reuse depending on genome resolution

During evolution, large-scale genome rearrangements of chromosomes shuffle the order of homologous genome sequences ("synteny blocks") across species. Some years ago, a controversy erupted in genome rearrangement studies over whether rearrangements recur, causing breakpoints to be reused. We investigate this controversial issue using the synteny block's for human-mouse-rat reported by Bourque et al. and a series of synteny blocks we generated using Mauve at resolutions ranging from coarse to very fine-scale. We conducted analyses to test how resolution affects the traditional measure of the breakpoint reuse rate. We found that the inversion-based breakpoint reuse rate is low at fine-scale synteny block resolution and that it rises and eventually falls as synteny block resolution decreases. By analyzing the cycle structure of the breakpoint graph of human-mouse-rat synteny blocks for human-mouse and comparing with theoretically derived distributions for random genome rearrangements, we showed that the implied genome rearrangements at each level of resolution become more “random” as synteny block resolution diminishes. At highest synteny block resolutions the Hannenhalli-Pevzner inversion distance deviates from the Double Cut and Join distance, possibly due to small-scale transpositions or simply due to inclusion of erroneous synteny blocks. At synteny block resolutions as coarse as the Bourque et al. blocks, we show the breakpoint graph cycle structure has already converged to the pattern expected for a random distribution of synteny blocks. The inferred breakpoint reuse rate depends on synteny block resolution in human-mouse genome comparisons. At fine-scale resolution, the cycle structure for the transformation appears less random compared to that for coarse resolution. Small synteny blocks may contain critical information for accurate reconstruction of genome rearrangement history and parameters.
Direct Measurement of O2-Depleted Microzones in Marine Oscillatoria: Relation to N2 Fixation

Among the nitrogen (N(2))-fixing Cyanobacteria, the filamentous, nonheterocystous marine Oscillatoria spp. (Trichodesmium) appears enigmatic; it exhibits N(2) fixation in the presence of oxygenic photosynthesis without structural protection of the N(2-)fixing apparatus (nitrogenase) from potential inhibition by molecular oxygen (O(2)). Characteristically, N(2) fixation is largely confined to aggregates (bundles) of filaments. Previous work has suggested that spatial partitioning of photosynthesis and of N(2) fixation occurs in the bundles as a means of allowing both processes to occur contemporaneously. The probing of freshly sampled bundles with O(2) microelectrodes directly confirmed such partitioning by showing the presence of O(2-)depleted (reduced) microzones in photosynthetically active, N(2-)fixing bundles. Bundle size was directly related to both the development of internal reduced microzones and cellular N(2) fixation rates. By enhancing microzone formation, bundles optimize N(2) fixation as a means of supporting Oscillatoria spp. blooms in surficial, nitrogen-depleted tropical and subtropical waters.
M 2 amphidrome in the northeast pacific

Abstract A previously proposed amphidrome between San Diego and Hawaii is confirmed by offshore measurements of tides across the amphidrome, showing opposite phases and opposite sense of current rotation.
CYP1A expression in liver and gill of rainbow trout following waterborne exposure : implications for biomarker determination

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare the time-course for induction of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) mRNA levels between liver and gill tissue from rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) following waterborne exposure to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). Liver and gill CYP1A mRNA levels and CYP1A catalytic activity were rapidly induced following exposure to BaP concentrations of less than 1 μg l−1. The rise of CYP1A mRNA levels ahead of the rise of CYP1A catalytic activity demonstrated the typical pattern of a gene that is under transcriptional control. Nuclear run-on assays with control and BaP-exposed fish demonstrated that transcriptional activation of the CYP1A gene is an important regulator of CYP1A mRNA levels during the first 24 h of exposure. Liver CYP1A mRNA levels were induced between 6 and 72 h of exposure to 1.23±0.08 μg l−1 BaP but decreased to basal levels between 72 and 120 h of exposure. In comparison, gill CYP1A mRNA levels were induced after 6 h of exposure and remained at this high level of induction through 120 h of exposure to 0.78±0.11 μg l−1 BaP. Gill BaP-hydroxylase activity was maximally induced between 24 and 120 h of exposure, and this time period corresponded with the time period when liver CYP1A mRNA levels decreased back to basal levels. Extensive first-pass metabolism of BaP by the gill after 24 h of exposure may have prevented the majority of parent BaP that was cleared by the gill from entering circulation and maintaining induction of liver CYP1A mRNA levels. The comparison between liver and gill CYP1A mRNA levels and CYP1A catalytic activity demonstrated that CYP1A expression should be measured in tissues that are proximate to the environment when assessing fish from contaminated environments.
Evidence that physiologic levels of circulating estrogens and neonatal sex-imprinting modify postpubertal hepatic microsomal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity.

Abstract Ontact, but sham-operated female rats had 2- to 3-fold higher levels of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutary CoA reductase activity than their male couterparts (15–21.5 vs. 6.7–8.7 nmol mevalonate/mg protein per h). The activity of the hepatic enzyme declined to about the same relative degree (40–60%) in male and female rats that were gonadectomized after puberty (53 days of age) and killed 5 weeks later. Implantion of silastic capsules containing 17β-estradiol increased the level of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase to levels found in sham-operated controls. In rats that were gonadectomized in infacny (12 h old) and killed 7–8 weeks later, the level of enzyme activity was not altered in females, but it was increased from 60–240% in males. Consequently, following neonatal gonadectomy, male-female differences in enzyme activity were no longer apparent. Implantation of islastic capsules containing estradiol in neonatally gonadectomized rats resulted in a doubling of enzyme activity in both males and females. Ovariectomy reduced plasma estrogen levels, but implantation of estradiol in gonadectomized males and behavioral characteristics. We found in confirmation of an earlier study [20], that in comparison to females, the higher body weight of males and presumably their increased food intake, was also dependent on sex imprinting that occured prior to birth. This observation takes on particular significance in view of the recent report that the amount and quality of food eaten during infancy exerted a long lasting effect on the post-pubertal regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl CoA reductase activity [21,22] and bile acid synthesis [23]. Thus, while a direct effect of neonatal sex imprinting on the regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methyglutaryl CoA reductase activity is still possible, more indirect mechanisms [24] should also be considered.
Neural Encoding in Ventral Striatum during Olfactory Discrimination Learning

A growing body of evidence implicates the ventral striatum in using information acquired through associative learning. The present study examined the activity of ventral striatal neurons in awake, behaving rats during go/no-go odor discrimination learning and reversal. Many neurons fired selectively to odor cues predictive of either appetitive (sucrose) or aversive (quinine) outcomes. Few neurons were selective when first exposed to the odors, but many acquired this differential activity as rats learned the significance of the cues. A substantial proportion of these neurons encoded the cues' learned motivational significance, and these neurons tended to reverse their firing selectivity after reversal of odor-outcome contingencies. Other neurons that became selectively activated during learning did not reverse, but instead appeared to encode specific combinations of cues and associated motor responses. The results support a role for ventral striatum in using the learned significance, both appetitive and aversive, of predictive cues to guide behavior.
SU‐GG‐J‐92: Feasibility Study of Hadamard Multiplexing Radiography Based On Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Multi‐Pixel X‐Ray Technology

Purpose: Current CT scanners perform CT scans by rotating a single beam x‐ray source around an object and collect multiple projection images sequentially, one at a time. The serial approach demands fast gantry rotation and high x‐ray peak power which in turn limits the CT scanning speed. To overcome those limitations, novel CT scanners with multiple x‐ray sources have been proposed and developed, such as the Dynamic Spatial Reconstructor (DSR) from Mayo Clinic and the dual source CT from Siemens. Our approach is based on the carbon nanotubefield emission multi‐pixel x‐ray technology and Hadamard multiplexing principle. Method and Materials: For the proposed stationary multiplexingCT scanner, multiple x‐ray sources are spatially distributed along the CT scanning path. It completely eliminates the need for gantry rotation during CT scans. Furthermore, since the x‐ray radiation can be readily modulated to form different waveforms due to its field emission mechanism, the CT scanning procedure can be multiplexed based on Hadamard multiplexing principle which has been widely used in analytical instruments and communication areas to improve data throughput. Results: Without considering noise effects, Hadamard multiplexing method can increase the imaging speed by a factor of (N+1)/2 where N is the number of projection images, without increasing the x‐ray peak power. This becomes significant when N is large (∼1000). Experimentally, even with the presence of noises, we have successfully demonstrated that significant gain in terms of imaging speed for Hadamard multiplexing can be achieved using our prototype multi‐pixel x‐ray imaging system. Conclusion: We show the feasibility of Hadamard multiplexingradiography that enables simultaneous collection of multiple x‐ray images. The combination of the multi‐pixel x‐ray technology and multiplexing principle has the potential to lead to a new generation of stationary multiplexingCT scanners that have drastically increased data throughput and reduced x‐ray peak power.
Reliability of Implantable Electronic Devices: Two Case Studies

This paper presents two case studies of the reliability of implantable neural stimulators, designed specifically as auditory prostheses. These reliability results, collected from lifetime experiments, failure analysis, and manufacturing testing, confirm the crucial roles of well planned design and packaging in system reliability. Guidelines are proposed for the design of reliable implantable systems. The improvements in the second design can be traced to the better electronic design and manufacture, the careful considerations of metallurgical characteristics in bonding and connecting components, the package design, and the exhaustive tests at each step of the manufacturing process. The reliability of these designs, and of implantable systems in general, is by no means resolved nor well understood. There is a definite need for comprehensive data bases and techniques for reliability analysis of these systems as well as the systematic manufacturing test for reliability assurance, which is a growing concern in the research and development of artificial organs.
A Cost-Based Decision Tool for Valuing DoD System Design Options

Abstract The DoD has frequently demonstrated its ability to procure phenomenal systems; however, these accomplishments are often tarnished by substantial cost and schedule overruns. While defense acquisition policies are continually being revised to address these perennial problems, many believe that a more fundamental source of these overruns is the lack of flexibility in the systems being developed, which tend to preclude effective responses to unexpected events. However, providing justification to invest in flexibility is a tough sell when the measure of value is a military capability or political outcome, as there is no extant method to demonstrate the potential return on investment. This paper introduces a decision tool for valuing the inherent ability of different systems or designs to respond to uncertainty. The proposed tool is essentially a modification of the current life cycle cost model and is premised on the notion that the need for capability changes in a system arises in a stochastic manner that can be incorpo- rated into a continually updated, expected value model presented in terms of total life cycle cost. The cost-based decision tool presented here quantifies the ability of competing designs to respond to these capability changes via a cumulative distribution function (CDF). The design with the most favorable CDF (i.e., the one that is most likely to meet the most likely set of require- ments at the lowest expected value curve of life cycle cost) is deemed to be the “best” design.
The Roman Law of Trusts

Theory, practice, and history: Rudiments Action and reaction: From republic to empire Conspiracy of silence: Secret trusts The dead hand: Perpetuities and settlements An end to the horror: Trusts on intestacy Words, deeds, and doubts: Interpretation Of action and execution: Procedure From morals to obligations: Evolution
Estrogens and Progesterone Increase Fetal and Maternal Guanylate Cyclase Activity

Since both estrogens and cyclic guanosine 3′,5′- monophosphate stimulate protein synthesis, the objective of the present investigation was to determine if estrogens and their precursors might have part of their mechanism of action through stimulation of guanylate cyclase (E.C.4.6.1.2), the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of guanosine triphosphate to cyclic guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate. The precursors of estrogen synthesis originate from cholesterol. Cholesterol itself had no effect on guanylate cyclase activity. The precursors of estrogen synthesis generated from cholesterol, namely, progesterone, 17α- OH-progesterone, androstenedione, pregnenolone, 17α-OH-pregnenolone, and dehydroepinandrosterone, however, caused a 2- to 3-fold enhancement of fetal and maternal guinea pig hepatic and uterine guanylate cyclase activity at a concentration of 1 μM. In comparative studies, similar effects were seen on immature female Sprague-Dawley rat hepatic and uterine guanylate cyclase activity. Estrone, estradiol-...
An alternative discriminator design for the Scanditronix SP-3000 time of flight emission tomograph

The detector modules for the original versions of the Scanditronix SP3000 positron-emission tomograph (PET) exhibit a consistent nonuniform sensitivity in count rate for paired crystals coupled to single photomultiplier tubes. The detector modules and discriminators used in the original SP3000 machines are described, and possible solutions are examined. The response is corrected by adopting a new discriminator design for the machine. >
Prevalence of alternative splicing choices in Arabidopsis thaliana

Around 14% of protein-coding genes of Arabidopsis thaliana genes from the TAIR9 genome release are annotated as producing multiple transcript variants through alternative splicing. However, for most alternatively spliced genes in Arabidopsis, the relative expression level of individual splicing variants is unknown. We investigated prevalence of alternative splicing (AS) events in Arabidopsis thaliana using ESTs. We found that for most AS events with ample EST coverage, the majority of overlapping ESTs strongly supported one major splicing choice, with less than 10% of ESTs supporting the minor form. Analysis of ESTs also revealed a small but noteworthy subset of genes for which alternative choices appeared with about equal prevalence, suggesting that for these genes the variant splicing forms co-occur in the same cell types. Of the AS events in which both forms were about equally prevalent, more than 80% affected untranslated regions or involved small changes to the encoded protein sequence. Currently available evidence from ESTs indicates that alternative splicing in Arabidopsis occurs and affects many genes, but for most genes with documented alternative splicing, one AS choice predominates. To aid investigation of the role AS may play in modulating function of Arabidopsis genes, we provide an on-line resource (ArabiTag) that supports searching AS events by gene, by EST library keyword search, and by relative prevalence of minor and major forms.
Multiperspective autostereoscopic display

We present a design for a 3D display system that is simultaneously autostereoscopic (no viewer eyewear is required), multiperspective or look-around (horizontal parallax is achieved without head tracking), raster-filled (all pixels have gray scale), and dynamic (live or real-time scenes may be displayed). This system will enable the demonstration of improved pilot performance and situation awareness due to multiperspective (i.e., look-around) viewing capability. The system uses twenty separate small liquid crystal televisions (LCTVs) with corresponding perspective views projected onto a pupil-forming screen consisting of a Fresnel lens and a pair of crossed lenticular arrays. The system will provide design data necessary for the development of a more compact and optically efficient system that uses digital micromirror devices instead of LCTVs.
Jacob Talmon between Zionism and Cold War Liberalism

The paper focuses on the problematic relationship between Talmon's liberalism and Zionism. My argument is that Talmon's nationalism (Zionism included)—historicist, romantic, visionary—lived in permanent tension with his liberalism—empiricist, pluralist, pragmatic. His critique of totalitarian democracy, reflecting his British experience, emerged independently from his Zionism, grounded in Central European nationalism. The two represented different worlds. Talmon lived in both, serving as an ambassador in-between them, without ever bringing them together. The essay's first section describes the political education of the young Jacob Talmon (nee Flajszer) and the making of The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy. It demonstrates the independence of Talmon's Cold War liberal project from his Zionism. The second section places Talmon in the context of Cold War liberal discourse, showing how integral his critique of revolutionary politics was to contemporary liberalism. The third illustrates the tensions between...
Zooplankters as indicators of ecosystem health: past findings and future directions

Both acute (ingestion, respiration) and chronic bioassays (reproduction, survival) have been used to identify sources of pollutants. A mass-balance analysis suggests that acute tests be paired, using important indicator species asDaphnia, Ceriodaphnia and potentially others, to estimate the impact of contaminants upon the zooplankton community. Eventually groups of community bioassays may be combined to approximate an ecosystem bioassay. Hormesis or the stimulation of a physiological process by a compound which is toxic at high concentrations is characteristic of several bioassays; in this paper the ecotoxicology community is challenged to keep detailed records of the species, toxic compound, and physiological response involving hormesis in order to understand it; and ultimately to use it to simplify interpretation of bioassays. Life history characteristics of the cladoceran zooplankton, including early reproduction, high net reproductive rates, and the potential for many parthenogenetic generations with constant genotypes and low mutation rates make good choices for environmental bioassays. In contrast, high mutation rates of rotifers make them questionable choices. Five innovations, one or more of which may improve our ability to detect and identify pollutants, are suggested for ecotoxicologists using zooplankton. These include (a) the use of strains of known genotype; (b) determination of the genetic adaptation of clones to common toxins; (c) the use of common behaviors, including responses to light in detection of non-lethal chemicals at ambient levels; (d) record keeping on occurrence of cladoceran tumors; and (e) the determination of precise toxins responsible for the inhibition of zooplankton function and behavior.
Regulation of blood-brain barrier permeability by transient receptor potential type C and type v calcium-permeable channels.

Objective: To identify plasma membrane ion channels mediating calcium influx at the blood-brain barrier in response to disrupting stimuli.Methods: We examined the expression and function of candidate transient receptor potential channels using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain recation, Fura-2 calcium imaging, and permeability assays.Results: Immortalized mouse brain microvessel endothelial cells expressed multiple transient receptor potential isoforms: transient receptor potential C1, C2, C4, and C7, M2, M3, M4, and M7, and V2 and V4. Similar profiles were observed in freshly isolated cerebral microvessels and primary cultured rat brain endothelial cells. Thrombin-stimulated calcium influx in brain endothelial cells was blocked by transient receptor potential C inhibitors. Transient receptor potential V activating stimuli also increased intracellular calcium. This increase was inhibited by a transient receptor potential V blocker or by removal of extracellular calcium. Barrier integrity was compromi...
The Body in Theory

Geographers are now taking the problematic of corporeality seriously. ‘The body’ is becoming a preoccupation in the geographical literature, and is a central figure around which to base political demands, social analyses, and theoretical investigations. In this paper I describe some of the trajectories through which the body has been installed in academia and claim that this installation has necessitated the uptake of certain theoretical legacies and the disavowal or forgetting of others. In particular, I trace two related developments. First, I point to the sometimes haphazard agglomeration of disparate theoretical interventions that lie under the name of postmodernism and observe how this has led to the foregrounding of bodily tropes of fragmentation, fluidity, and ‘the cyborg‘. Second, I examine the treatment of the body as a conduit which enables political agency to be thought of in terms of transgression and resistance. I stage my argument by looking at how on the one hand Marxist and on the other qu...
Arterial Stiffness and Endothelial Function. Key Players in Vascular Health

Functional assessment of the blood pressure waveform helps us to obtain an estimation of the arterial stiffness or its converse, arterial elasticity.1 Several epidemiological studies have clearly demonstrated that arterial stiffness is a significant predictor of cardiovascular disease incidence in the general population.2 There is clear evidence now that decreased arterial elasticity or increased arterial stiffness in normotensive and prehypertensive subjects induces increased risk for the development of arterial hypertension. In vitro and in vivo experiments have shown that the vascular endothelium plays a crucial role in vascular tone and consequently in arterial stiffness. However, there are no data available regarding the endothelial pathways involved in the adaptation of arterial mechanics during changes in blood flow. The elegant study by Bellien et al3 in this issue of Hypertension studied the endothelial pathways involved in the adaption of arterial mechanics during changes in blood flow. Besides identifying the “endothelial-derived relaxing factor” nitric oxide (NO) as important in this biological process, a unique aspect found in their study was the “endothelial-hyperpolarizing factor” EDHF. Endothelium-dependent relaxation/vasodilation in response to neurohumoral mediators and physical forces, such as the shear stress caused by blood flow, is generally attributed to the release of NO and/or prostacyclin. However, NO and prostacyclin cannot fully explain these endothelium-mediated vasodilator responses. The relaxations observed in the presence of NO synthase and cyclooxygenase inhibitors are often associated with hyperpolarization of the vascular smooth …
Prospective determination of candidates for thrombolysis in patients with acute proximal deep vein thrombosis.

Purpose To prospectively determine the distribution, extent, and age of venous thrombosis in patients presenting with acute signs and symptoms of venous thromboembolism and identify candidates for thrombolysis. Materials and Methods Five hundred seventy-six consecutive patients (281 male, 295 female; mean age 58) referred for lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) assessment between November 2007 and April 2008 were included in the study. Documented cases of DVT were categorized by age (acute, chronic, and acute on chronic), anatomic location, and extent. Patients with iliofemoral and femoropopliteal DVT were evaluated for thrombolysis using standard criteria. Results DVT was found in 19% of patients (112/576). Of these, 31 patients (27.7%, 31/112) had isolated calf DVT, 61 patients (54.5%, 61/112) had proximal vein thrombosis extending into the femoropopliteal venous segments, and 20 patients (17.9%, 20/112) presented with iliofemoral DVT. Using standard criteria, 12 patients were selected as potential candidates for pharmacomechanical thrombolysis (PhMT). This equated to an incidence of 2% (12/576) in the population studied, 11% of patients (12/112) with DVT, 26.1% of patients (12/46) presenting with acute proximal DVT, and 20% of patients (4/20) with iliofemoral DVT. Conclusion The incidence of potential candidates for thrombolysis is low. These data should be considered when recruiting centers to participate in ongoing clinical trials assessing the efficacy of these techniques.
Multi-scale environmental heterogeneity as a predictor of plant species richness

Ecological theory predicts a positive influence of local-, landscape-, and regional-scale spatial environmental heterogeneity on local species richness. Therefore, knowing how heterogeneity measured at a variety of scales relates to local species richness has important implications for conservation of biological diversity. We took a statistical modeling approach to determine which metrics of heterogene- ity measured at which scales were useful predictors of local species richness, and whether the heterogeneity- local richness relationship was always positive. Local plant species richness data came from 400-m 2 vegetation plots in North and South Carolina, USA. At each of four scales from within plots to across regions, we used either GIS or field data to calculate measures of heterogeneity from abiotic environmen- tal variables, vegetation productivity data, and land cover classifications. Among all predictors at all scales, we found that no measure of heterogeneity was a better predictor of local richness than mean pH within plots. However, at scales larger than within plots, measures of heterogeneity were correlated most strongly with local richness, and each of the three classes of variables we used had a distinct scale at which it performed better than the others. These results highlight the fact that ecological processes occurring across multiple scales influence local species richness differently. In addition, relationships between heterogeneity and richness were usually, though not always, positive, underscoring the impor- tance of processes that occur at a variety of scales to local biodiversity conservation and management.
Adulthood stressors, history of childhood adversity, and risk of perpetration of intimate partner violence.

BACKGROUND: More than half a million U.S. women and more than 100,000 men are treated for injuries from intimate partner violence (IPV) annually, making IPV perpetration a major public health problem. However, little is known about causes of perpetration across the life course. PURPOSE: This paper examines the role of "stress sensitization," whereby adult stressors increase risk for IPV perpetration most strongly in people with a history of childhood adversity. METHODS: The study investigated a possible interaction effect between adulthood stressors and childhood adversities in risk of IPV perpetration, specifically, whether the difference in risk of IPV perpetration associated with past-year stressors varied by history of exposure to childhood adversity. Analyses were conducted in 2010 using de-identified data from 34,653 U.S. adults from the 2004-2005 follow-up wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. RESULTS: There was a significant stress sensitization effect. For men with high-level childhood adversity, past-year stressors were associated with an 8.8 percentage point (pp) increased risk of perpetrating compared to a 2.3 pp increased risk among men with low-level adversity. Women with high-level childhood adversity had a 14.3 pp increased risk compared with a 2.5 pp increased risk in the low-level adversity group. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with recent stressors and histories of childhood adversity are at particularly elevated risk of IPV perpetration; therefore, prevention efforts should target this population. Treatment programs for IPV perpetrators, which have not been effective in reducing risk of perpetrating, may benefit from further investigating the role of stress and stress reactivity in perpetration. Language: en
Reduced REDD1 expression contributes to activation of mTORC1 following electrically induced muscle contraction

Regulated in DNA damage and development 1 (REDD1) is a repressor of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. In humans, REDD1 mRNA expression in skeletal muscle is repressed following resistance exercise...
CENTRAL PAIN AND DYSESTHESIA SYNDROME

Central pain is defined as pain initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the central nervous system (CNS). 65 This definition is useless in that it fails to contribute in any way to either the diagnosis or the treatment of central pain syndromes (CPSs). The management and understanding of central pain would be simplified if all types of central pain associated with a lesion of the CNS shared a common characteristic; however, it appears that there are more exceptions than rules in either clinical presentation, underlying sensory abnormalities, or site of the presumed lesion. 8 In this article, I suggest that there are different CPSs that have some features in common. In addition, CPS seems to be fundamentally different from other pains.
Sucrose Phosphate Synthase Activity Rises in Correlation with High-Rate Cellulose Synthesis in Three Heterotrophic Systems

Based on work with cotton fibers, a particulate form of sucrose (Suc) synthase was proposed to support secondary wall cellulose synthesis by degrading Suc to fructose and UDP-glucose. The model proposed that UDP-glucose was then channeled to cellulose synthase in the plasma membrane, and it implies that Suc availability in cellulose sink cells would affect the rate of cellulose synthesis. Therefore, if cellulose sink cells could synthesize Suc and/or had the capacity to recycle the fructose released by Suc synthase back to Suc, cellulose synthesis might be supported. The capacity of cellulose sink cells to synthesize Suc was tested by analyzing the Suc phosphate synthase (SPS) activity of three heterotrophic systems with cellulose-rich secondary walls. SPS is a primary regulator of the Suc synthesis rate in leaves and some Suc-storing, heterotrophic organs, but its activity has not been previously correlated with cellulose synthesis. Two systems analyzed, cultured mesophyll cells of Zinnia elegans L. var. Envy and etiolated hypocotyls of kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), contained differentiating tracheary elements. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv Acala SJ-1) fibers were also analyzed during primary and secondary wall synthesis. SPS activity rose in all three systems during periods of maximum cellulose deposition within secondary walls. The Z. elegans culture system was manipulated to establish a tight linkage between the timing of tracheary element differentiation and rising SPS activity and to show that SPS activity did not depend on the availability of starch for degradation. The significance of these findings in regard to directing metabolic flux toward cellulose will be discussed.
Capacity of a Structural Binary Symmetric Channel

Information theory traditionally deals with the problem of transmitting sequences over a communication channel and finding the maximum number of messages that a transmitter can send so that the receiver recovers these messages with arbitrarily small probability of error. However, databases of various sorts have come into existence in recent years that require the transmission of new sources of data (e.g., graphs and sets) over communication channels. Here, we investigate a communication model transmitting Erdos-Renyi (unlabeled) graphs to a destination over a Binary Symmetric Channel (BSC). We find the capacity of such a channel - called the Structural Binary Symmetric Channel (SBSC) - to be C = 1 - h(e) where h(e) is the binary entropy of the error bit rate e.
Voltage stresses in a distribution transformer under nonideal switching conditions

Failure of a 1600 kVA molded type distribution transformer due to switching surges is investigated through computer simulations. The transformer was supplying a motor bank in an industrial plant from a 20 kV busbar. A three-phase PSPICE model is built to simulate the system transients and internal voltage stresses on transformer windings during switching operations. Simulation of various switching conditions involving current chopping and multiple reignition phenomena have shown that severe internal overvoltages may arise between adjacent coils of the high voltage windings, while the terminal voltage of the transformer remains below the guaranteed basic insulation level. In such cases surge arresters can not provide a sufficient protection since high frequency oscillations may cause partial winding resonance. Simulations have shown that an RC filter installed in the HV terminals of the transformer reduces the internal voltage stresses below the guaranteed limits. The filter also reduces the possibility of arc reignition between the vacuum circuit breaker contacts.
Exact results on void growth in a model of electromigration

Abstract We study the growth of a slit-shaped void oriented perpendicularly to the ambient current flow in a lattice model of electromigration damage and failure. In the model, the damage D done to a conducting bond is given by D = k\I\β - α D , where I is the current passing through the bond and α, β and k are non-negative constants. In an infinitely large grid with α = 0 and 1 ≤ β v grows as x μ as x → ∞, where 2 x is the length of the crack. We show that μ is exactly equal to 3 - β. In an infinitely long strip, the steady state crack tip speed diverges as (α - αc)−1 as a threshold value αc is approached from above.
Oblimersen sodium (G3139 Bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotide) therapy in Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia: a targeted approach to enhance apoptosis.

The components of the apoptotic pathway are targets for anticancer therapy. Bcl-2 protein inhibits apoptosis and confers resistance to treatment with traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and monoclonal antibodies. Oblimersen sodium (G3139, Genasense, Genta Inc, Berkeley Heights, NJ) is an antisense oligonucleotide compound designed to specifically bind to the first six codons of the human bcl-2 mRNA sequence, resulting in degradation of bcl-2 mRNA and subsequent decrease in Bcl-2 protein translation. Oblimersen is the first oligonucleotide to demonstrate proof of principle of an antisense effect in human tumors by the documented downregulation of the target Bcl-2 protein. A growing body of preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that oblimersen synergizes with many cytotoxic and biologic/immunotherapeutic agents against a variety of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Randomized clinical trials are currently underway to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of oblimersen in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), multiple myeloma (MM), malignant melanoma, and non-small cell lung cancer. In addition, nonrandomized trials are underway to evaluate oblimersen in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Preclinical data support the clinical evaluation of oblimersen in additional tumor types, including chronic myelogenous leukemia, and breast, small cell lung, gastric, colon, bladder (CML), and Merkel cell cancers. Enhancement of the efficacy of anticancer treatments with oblimersen Bcl-2 antisense therapy represents a promising new apoptosis-modulating strategy, and ongoing clinical trials will test this therapeutic approach.
Estimating haplotype frequencies in pooled DNA samples when there is genotyping error

Background Maximum likelihood estimates of haplotype frequencies can be obtained from pooled DNA using the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. Through simulation, we investigate the effect of genotyping error on the accuracy of haplotype frequency estimates obtained using this algorithm. We explore model parameters including allele frequency, inter-marker linkage disequilibrium (LD), genotyping error rate, and pool size.
Solving nonsymmetric eigenproblems on distributed memory concurrent computers

The design and implementation of a parallel nonsymmetric eigensolver is one of the most challenging problems in numerical linear algebra. This paper describes a distributed memory concurrent computer implementation of an algorithm based on the matrix sign function to "spectrally divide and conquer" the matrix. Performance and scalability results are also presented. >
Tandem chromosomal duplications: role of REP sequences in the recombination event at the join-point.

Abstract We show that a family of prokaryotic repetitive sequences, called REP (repetitive extragenic palindromic), (Stern et al., 1984) is involved in the formation of chromosomal rearrangements such as duplications. The join-points of seven RecA+ tandem duplications previously characterized in Salmonella typhimurium, that fuse the hisD gene to distant foreign promoters, were cloned and sequenced. In all seven cases they are shown to have originated by recombination between distant REP sequences. Importantly, several join-points had also occurred at REP sequences even in a RecA-background. Thus, REPs can recombine with each other by a RecA(-)-independent mechanism involved in the generation of chromosomal rearrangements. While all RecA+ duplications analysed resulted from recombination between REP sequences, some RecA-duplications did occur also outside of REP sequences, in one case by recombination within a 7 bp homology. Possible roles for the known interaction between DNA gyrase and REP in chromosomal rearrangements are discussed.
Southern California Bight regional monitoring

Abstract The Southern California Bight (SCB) is a unique ecological and economic resource, home to some of the most productive coastal ecosystems, but also some of largest pollutant inputs in the United States. Historically, environmental monitoring of the coastal environment has been temporally intensive, but spatially focused on narrow areas closest to regulated discharges, providing a potentially biased perspective of overall coastal sediment quality. Beginning in 1994 and conducted approximately every five years thereafter, nearly 100 regulated, regulatory, non-governmental or academic organizations join forces to implement the SCB Regional Marine Monitoring Program (the Bight Program). The most recent Bight program sampled nearly 400 locations, from the head of tide in coastal estuaries to offshore basins 1000 m in depth, using a probabilistic survey design and measuring multiple indicators of sediment quality including chemistry, toxicity, and infauna. The three indicators were scored using regionally-developed assessment tools, and then combined for an integrated assessment of sediment quality. Results showed that the vast majority of SCB sediments do not have impacted sediment quality, but that not all habitats are in equally good condition. Most of the continental shelf is not impacted, despite the discharge of very large volumes (10 9 L/day) of treated wastewater discharges. In contrast, up to 50% of the area in estuaries and 45% of the area in marinas have impacted sediment quality. These generally quiescent waterbodies receive pollutant inputs from the region’s extensively urbanized watersheds and high density of boating activities. Despite the relatively large extent of impacted sediment quality in embayments, sediment quality has been steadily improving in this habitat over the last decade based on surveys dating back to the 1998. The Bight Program has affected management actions in the region by focusing current efforts in habitats most impacted by poor sediment quality, and highlighting the improvements from previous management actions.
Efficient Evaluation of Sobol’ Indices Utilizing Samples from an Auxiliary Probability Density Function

AbstractA sample-based evaluation of Sobol’ sensitivity indices is discussed in this paper relying on Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) for achieving computational efficiency. The foundation of the approach is the definition of an auxiliary probability density function (PDF) for the vector of model parameters (i.e., random variables representing system input). The sensitivity index for each input can be then expressed through the marginal density related to this auxiliary joint PDF. The efficient estimation of the indices for all model parameters is ultimately facilitated by simulating first a single sample-set from the joint PDF and then utilizing this information to approximate all marginal distributions of interest through KDE. The same sample set is used for all approximations whereas this set is further exploited to improve the accuracy of the estimation of the integrals defining the sensitivity indices. An extension to facilitate calculation of higher order indices and total sensitivity indices is als...
Abstract 128: Pim1 kinase Overexpression Enhances ckit+ Cardiac Stem Cells Cardioreparative Ability After Intramyocardial Delivery

Background: Pim-1 kinase plays an important role in cell division, survival and commitment towards myocardial lineage. We hypothesized that Pim-1 overexpression in ckit+ cardiac stem cell (CSCs) enhances cardioreparative effects. Methods: Immunosuppressed Yorkshire swine (n=31) received human ckit+ CSCs (n=9), Pim1 modified human ckit+ CSCs (n=9) or PBS (n=13) two weeks after myocardial infarction. Cardiac MRI and PV loops were obtained before and after cell administration. Results: At 8 weeks post transplantation, scar mass (Fig. 1A), viable tissue (Fig. 1B), ejection fraction (Fig. 1C) and stroke work (Fig. 1D) was significantly improved in Pim-1 modified ckit+ CSC compared to control ckit+, while both cell groups showed partial recovery compared to placebo (two way ANOVA, p<0.05). Both cell types similarly reduced preload (end diastolic pressure; Fig. 1E) and afterload (Arterial elastance; Fig 1F) compared to placebo, while only administration of Pim-1 CPCs improved regional contractility at both the infarct (Fig. 1G) and border zones (Fig. 1H). Collectively, mechanoenergetic recoupling was superior in the Pim-1 group compared to ckit+ controls (Cardiac Efficiency; Fig. 1I). Conclusions: Cardioreparative potential of CSCs delivered by intramyocardial injection to infarcted porcine hearts is significantly enhanced by overexpress Pim1, supporting translational development of Pim-1 as a validated genetic modification of CSCs for incorporation into clinical trials. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Effects of heavy metal on the immune response. Preliminary findings for cadmium in rats.

SummaryCadmium (Cd) injected into rats at various time intervals in relation to antigen (Ag) (human gamma-globulin) administration was shown to have a diverse but significant effect on the immune response, as measured by the passive hemagglutination test. Cd2+ doses (0.6 mg/kg) initiated 14 and 7 days prior to Ag injection enhanced and suppressed antibody synthesis, respectively. Mechanisms of Cd involvement are discussed.
NMR of helical textures in He 3 A

In weak superflow and/or parallel magnetic field, bulk $^{3}\mathrm{He} A$ is expected to form a stable helical texture. The nuclear-magnetic-resonance response of that texture is studied with Leggett's theory of spin dynamics in the superfluid. Two longitudinal and four transverse resonances are found, but the dynamic susceptibility typically shows that only one of each type has appreciable spectral weight.
On the convenient setting for real analytic mappings

We give an explicit description of the “convenient structure” onCω(ℝ, ℝ) defined in [3] yielding a much easier proof of cartesian closedness of the category of real analytic mappings between convenient vector spaces. Also the proof uses onlyZF+DCω.