cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Path planning for information collection in contested environments using marsupial systems

This paper addresses a path planning problem where a marsupial system is assigned to collect a specified amount of information about a set of objects of interest while minimizing the likelihood of detection by an opponent's sensor. A marsupial system consists of aircraft (agents) with different capabilities. The agents are characterized by their velocities, information collection capabilities, and their effectiveness at remaining undetected. This work is motivated by surveillance missions that can be accomplished more effectively and safely by leveraging the distinct capabilities of agents in a marsupial system. The models for the agents and the environment are presented, the optimal control problem is formulated, and optimal trajectories for the marsupial system as well as characteristics of the trajectories under various mission time constraints are given.
What Does the Nervous System Do

This chapter describes the functions of nervous system. The nervous system is concerned and inquisitive about what goes on around it. It monitors light, sound, smell, and the feel of things. It monitors every physical stimulus known. Such monitoring is carried out by specialized receptors. Eyes capture light and convert it into brain language; ears hear sounds; the nose collects smells; hands, legs, and the whole body surface is sensitive to touch, pressure, and vibration. The receptors of these body parts report to the brain, and the impressions they bring result in behavior: a simple reflex, an association or simply a mental note of what has transpired. The job of the nervous system is to make sense of the stimuli that it receives. The body and nervous system are partners, and each depends on the other. The nervous system acts through the body, and it maintains and cares for its home, its avenue of access to the external world.
Finding middle ground between intellectual arrogance and intellectual servility: Development and assessment of the limitations-owning intellectual humility scale

Abstract Recent scholarship in intellectual humility (IH) has attempted to provide deeper understanding of the virtue as personality trait and its impact on an individual's thoughts, beliefs, and actions. A limitations-owning perspective of IH focuses on a proper recognition of the impact of intellectual limitations and a motivation to overcome them, placing it as the mean between intellectual arrogance and intellectual servility. We developed the Limitations-Owning Intellectual Humility Scale to assess this conception of IH with related personality constructs. In Studies 1 (n = 386) and 2 (n = 296), principal factor and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a three-factor model – owning one's intellectual limitations, appropriate discomfort with intellectual limitations, and love of learning. Study 3 (n = 322) demonstrated strong test-retest reliability of the measure over 5 months, while Study 4 (n = 612) revealed limitations-owning IH correlated negatively with dogmatism, closed-mindedness, and hubristic pride and positively with openness, assertiveness, authentic pride. It also predicted openness and closed-mindedness over and above education, social desirability, and other measures of IH. The limitations-owning understanding of IH and scale allow for a more nuanced, spectrum interpretation and measurement of the virtue, which directs future study inside and outside of psychology.
Moving away from hazing: the example of military initial entry training.

Hospitals and residency programs can learn from the military's approach to eliminating ritualized hazing while still conducting effective training.
Improved Cardiovascular Function in Old Mice After N-Acetyl Cysteine and Glycine Supplemented Diet: Inflammation and Mitochondrial Factors

Metabolic, inflammatory, and functional changes occur in cardiovascular aging which may stem from oxidative stress and be remediable with antioxidants. Glutathione, an intracellular antioxidant, declines with aging, and supplementation with glutathione precursors, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and glycine (Gly), increases tissue glutathione. Thirty-month old mice were fed diets supplemented with NAC or NAC+Gly and, after 7 weeks, cardiac function and molecular studies were performed. The NAC+Gly supplementation improved diastolic function, increasing peak early filling velocity, and reducing relaxation time, left atrial volume, and left ventricle end diastolic pressure. By contrast, cardiac function did not improve with NAC alone. Both diet supplementations decreased cardiac levels of inflammatory mediators; only NAC+Gly reduced leukocyte infiltration. Several mitochondrial genes reduced with aging were upregulated in hearts by NAC+Gly diet supplementation. These Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation enzymes, suggesting improved mitochondrial function, and permeabilized cardiac fibers from NAC+Gly-fed mice produced ATP from carbohydrate and fatty acid sources, whereas fibers from control old mice were less able to utilize fatty acids. Our data indicate that NAC+Gly supplementation can improve diastolic function in the old mouse and may have potential to prevent important morbidities for older people.
Free-Electron Laser Experiments

Using an electron beam in a magnetic field as the gain medium, free-electron lasers offer a powerful new source of tunable, coherent radiation. Results are just becoming available from several new experiments, but they are confirming the theoretical promise of these devices. Backed up by a strong base of accelerator technology, free-electron lasers are expected to become important in applications requiring wavelengths from the far infrared part of the spectrum to the vacuum ultraviolet.
Nanoporous Polymer Films with a High Cation Transference Number Stabilize Lithium Metal Anodes in Light-Weight Batteries for Electrified Transportation

To suppress dendrite formation in lithium metal batteries, high cation transference number electrolytes that reduce electrode polarization are highly desirable, but rarely available using conventional liquid electrolytes. Here, we show that liquid electrolytes increase their cation transference numbers (e.g., ∼0.2 to >0.70) when confined to a structurally rigid polymer host whose pores are on a similar length scale (0.5–2 nm) as the Debye screening length in the electrolyte, which results in a diffuse electrolyte double layer at the polymer–electrolyte interface that retains counterions and reject co-ions from the electrolyte due to their larger size. Lithium anodes coated with ∼1 μm thick overlayers of the polymer host exhibit both a low area-specific resistance and clear dendrite-suppressing character, as evident from their performance in Li–Li and Li–Cu cells as well as in post-mortem analysis of the anode’s morphology after cycling. High areal capacity Li–S cells (4.9 mg cm–2; 8.2 mAh cm–2) implementi...
When Benefit-Cost Analysis Becomes Optional: Regulatory Analysis at the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the CPSIA Era

In this study, I examine how the regulatory analysis practices of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an independent regulatory agency, changed when the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 relaxed its statutory obligations to conduct benefit-cost analysis (BCA). When given discretion, the agency dropped the practice despite significant institutional experience in conducting regulatory BCA and a history of using BCA as a key input to regulatory decisions. While the decision reflects an agency belief that omitting BCA would speed rulemaking under the CPSIA, the results have been mixed. Moreover, choosing to forego BCA-based decision-making fundamentally changed the agency’s regulatory portfolio. In contrast to the typical rule CPSC historically supported with BCA findings, many of the CPSIA rules impose significant economic burdens yet appear to yield negligible benefits. The CPSC would have been unlikely to have pursued the CPSIA rulemakings on its own because it could not have made the necessary BCA findings.
Movement in the wrong direction: Inaccurate change in prognostic understanding and its predictors.

54Background: Prognostic understanding research has primarily focused on improvements in the accuracy of patient understanding and factors driving such improvements. However, could patients with a ...
The impact of cumulative stress on asthma outcomes among urban adolescents

Abstract Introduction Many families living in low-income, urban areas experience a number of stressors (e.g., poverty, neighborhood stress, family functioning) that place adolescents at risk for worse asthma outcomes. Adolescents may face additional challenges (e.g., peer pressure, school stress) that add to their overall stress and influence their disease care and health outcomes. The current study examined the impact of a cumulative risk model of stressors including poverty, neighborhood stress, school stress, peer pressure, and caregiver-adolescent conflict on asthma outcomes (e.g., emergency department [ED] visits, asthma control, quality of life [QOL]) among urban adolescents (13–17 years). Methods Data were collected from 61 urban families of adolescents with asthma (54.1% female; 93.4% African American) in the United States. Caregivers and adolescents completed questionnaires assessing stressors and asthma outcomes separately during a research session. Results Cumulative risk was significantly associated with worse adolescent QOL and asthma control, and more ED visits. The cumulative risk index was also a more robust predictor of QOL and asthma control than any one individual predictor. Poverty, neighborhood stress, and school stress emerged as individual predictors of ED visits. Further, adolescents with well-controlled asthma had significantly lower neighborhood and school-related stress scores. Conclusions Findings suggest that beyond the risk conferred by individual risk factors, an accumulation of stress can have an especially negative impact on asthma outcomes for urban adolescents. Future intervention work aimed at improving asthma outcomes should consider incorporating strategies for minimizing overlapping sources of stress in adolescents’ daily lives.
The Mammalian High Mobility Group Protein AT-Hook 2 (HMGA2): Biochemical and Biophysical Properties, and Its Association with Adipogenesis.

The mammalian high-mobility-group protein AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) is a small DNA-binding protein and consists of three “AT-hook” DNA-binding motifs and a negatively charged C-terminal motif. It is a multifunctional nuclear protein directly linked to obesity, human height, stem cell youth, human intelligence, and tumorigenesis. Biochemical and biophysical studies showed that HMGA2 is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) and could form homodimers in aqueous buffer solution. The “AT-hook” DNA-binding motifs specifically bind to the minor groove of AT-rich DNA sequences and induce DNA-bending. HMGA2 plays an important role in adipogenesis most likely through stimulating the proliferative expansion of preadipocytes and also through regulating the expression of transcriptional factor Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) at the clonal expansion step from preadipocytes to adipocytes. Current evidence suggests that a main function of HMGA2 is to maintain stemness and renewal capacity of stem cells by which HMGA2 binds to chromosome and lock chromosome into a specific state, to allow the human embryonic stem cells to maintain their stem cell potency. Due to the importance of HMGA2 in adipogenesis and tumorigenesis, HMGA2 is considered a potential therapeutic target for anticancer and anti-obesity drugs. Efforts are taken to identify inhibitors targeting HMGA2.
Planning accelerated life tests with multiple sources of random effects

Accelerated life testing (ALT) is a commonly used experiment in industries for assessing a product’s lifetime. Planning a proper test with consideration of possible constraints on randomization is ...
Remote Measuring of Flow Meters for Petroleum Engineering and Other Industrial Applications

Reliable remote measuring of flow meters for the petroleum gas industry is proposed in this work. The monitoring of flow rates and the total amount of the fluid flow is collected using a manual process. The main goal of this work is to implement a mechanism that avoids human error and achieves reliable, continuous, and accurate monitoring. We employed the NuFlo Measurement System Model MC-II Flow Analyzer to prototype our monitoring mechanism for measuring the liquid flow and a Crossbow Technology MICA2 mote and MDA300CA Data Acquisition Board to transmit collected data via a wireless sensor network (WSN). The flow analyzer generates a pulse signal whose frequency depends on the flow rate. The mote is used to count the number of pulses and send it to the host computer. An amplifier lets the mote detect the voltage level differences and overcome signal weakness. The host computer stores the data received from the mote into a PostgreSQL database for use in preparing Excel sheets and graphical displays in real time. The flow rate and the total flow amount collected by the host computer match those shown on analyzer. The design and implementation of our prototype serves as a proof of concept of how existing analog sensors used to monitor the flow rate and volume of the oil and water in petroleum production can be integrated with other devices in a WSN.
CSF-Venous Fistulas: Anatomy and Diagnostic Imaging.

Please see the Editorial Comment by Brent D. Weinberg discussing this article. CSF–venous fistulas (CVFs), first described in 2014, are an important cause of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. C...
Union is strength: target-based and whole-cell high throughput screens in antibacterial discovery.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest global health challenges today. For over three decades antibacterial discovery research and development has been focused on cell-based and target-based high throughput assays. Target-based screens use diagnostic enzymatic reactions to look for molecules that can bind directly and inhibit the target. Target-based screens are only applied to proteins that can be successfully expressed, purified and the activity of which can be effectively measured using a biochemical assay. Often times the molecules found in these in vitro screens are not active in cells due to poor permeability or efflux. On the other hand, cell-based screens use whole cells and look for growth inhibition. These screens give higher number of hits than target-based assays and can simultaneously test many targets of one process or pathway in their physiological context. Both strategies have pros and cons when used separately. In the past decade and a half our increasing knowledge of bacterial physiology has led to the development of innovative and sophisticated technologies to perform high throughput screening combining these two strategies and thus minimizing their disadvantages. In this review we discuss recent examples of high throughput approaches that used both target-based and whole-cell screening to find new antibacterials, the new insights they have provided and how this knowledge can be applied to other in vivo validated targets to develop new antimicrobials.
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry: Theory and Instrumentation

Over the past decade Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT—IR) has become an important tool for vibrational spectroscopists and analytical chemists. In this chapter we will discuss the theory of FT—IR and show how it relates to instrumental design. The performance of FT—IR spectrometers will be compared to that of conventional grating spectrometers, and illustrated in the next chapter through descriptions of several applications where FT—IR has been used to advantage.
Just-in-Case or Just-in-Time Training? — Excerpts from a Doctoral Research Study

This paper is an excerpt on the author’s doctoral study titled “Effects of Just-in-Time online training on knowledge and application of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP®) Model among in-service teachers.” The specific focus of the report is on an aspect of the study, which sought to determine whether there was any statistically significant difference between learners who received Just-in-Time (JiT) versus those who received Just-in-Case (JiC) instruction. Results from the data analysis revealed no significant difference in knowledge or application skills between the JiT and JiC groups. However, there was an increase in learner application of SIOP® Model principles in classroom teaching, for both groups. JiT training did not emerge as a better training strategy than JiC training. The main benefit of the training delivered through this study seemed to be in increasing application and not knowledge.
A New Approach to Digital Reader Privacy: State Regulations and Their Protection of Electronic Book Data

On October 3, 2011, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Reader Privacy Act into law. Currently, book service providers within California are prohibited from disclosing to third parties personal information related to their users, including (1) information that “identifies, relates to, describes, or is associated with a particular user,” (2) a “unique identifier or Internet Protocol Address,” and (3) information that shows a “user’s access to or use of a book service or a book, in whole or in partial form.” The Act seeks to specifically protect all book formats, including electronic formats. Additionally, the Act establishes a highly protective court order process, requiring an entity to show a compelling interest in the book record and that the record sought cannot be obtained through less intrusive means before the record can be disclosed. For many, the Act is a triumph for privacy protection and champions a first-of-its-kind approach to a clear cut rule about when an entity can access an individual’s digital information related to his or her book reading habits. Others, however, see it as nothing more than protecting a miniscule segment of data available to exposure and can provide little protection against mass data collection by other state and federal entities. Thus, California’s Reader Privacy Act poses a critical question as new initiatives begin to shape the digital as digital books become more prominent in today’s society?This Note argues that state regulations, such as California’s Reader Privacy Act, can provide the foundational framework for true digital reader privacy. With such a lack of regulations geared toward protecting the privacy interests of an individual’s digital content, specifically his or her digital book data, this Act could serve as the catalyst to multistate and federal regulations that effectively and efficiently create legal barriers in order to protect personal information related to digital books. Part I examines the architecture of digital books, and how their integration with technology and the Internet has created new legal issues about third-party access to a digital book reader’s personal information. Part II details how reader privacy has traditionally been addressed on the private, federal, and state levels. This Part also analyzes how California’s Reader Privacy Act seeks to address some of the concerns of digital reader privacy. Part III discusses how state regulations can fill the digital void left by laws and policies currently addressing reader privacy and online privacy, and how this could help formulate a national approach to protecting reader privacy in the digital age.
Young Thurgood: The Making of a Supreme Court Justice. By Larry S. Gibson. (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2012. Pp. 413. $28.00.)

We are enjoying a bumper crop of scholarship on the young Thurgood Marshall. This is the Marshall before he led a team of NAACP lawyers to victory in Brown v. Board of Education [1954] and became k...
Secure Spontaneous Device Association

One of the principal requirements of ubiquitous computing is support for spontaneous interoperation, in which two or more devices interact temporarily in ad hoc circumstances. Spontaneity typically arises when nomadic users carry one or more of the devices around. We contribute a method of using lasers for securing spontaneous device associations. The method provides users with physical evidence of which device they have connected their device to, as well as setting up a secure channel between the devices.
Do Watson and Crick Motor from X to Z

A protein that determines left-right body asymmetry in the mouse is involved in the nonrandom segregation of duplicated chromosomes to daughter cells.
The Calmodulin-Nitric Oxide Synthase Interaction CRITICAL ROLE OF THE CALMODULIN LATCH DOMAIN IN ENZYME ACTIVATION

The neuronal isoform of nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) requires calmodulin for nitric oxide producing activity. Calmodulin functions as a molecular switch, allowing electron transport from the carboxyl-terminal reductase domain of nitric oxide synthase to its heme-containing amino-terminal domain. Available evidence suggests that calmodulin binds to a site between the two domains of nNOS, but it is not known how calmodulin then executes its switch function. To study the calmodulin-nNOS interaction, we created a series of chimeras between calmodulin and cardiac troponin C (cTnC, a homologue of calmodulin that does not activate nNOS). Although a few chimeras showed good ability to activate nNOS, most failed to activate. A subset of the inactive chimeras retained the ability to bind to nNOS and therefore functioned as potent competitive inhibitors of nNOS activation by calmodulin (CaM). The observed inhibition was additive with the arginine antagonists NG-monomethyl-L-arginine and 7-nitroindazole, indicating a distinct and independent mechanism of nNOS inhibition. To localize the calmodulin residues that account for impaired activation in the inhibitory CaM-cTnC chimeras, we conducted a detailed mutagenesis study, replacing CaM subdomains and individual amino acid residues with the corresponding residues from cTnC. This revealed that mutations in CaM helices 2 and 6 (its latch domain) have a disproportionate negative effect on nNOS activation. Thus, our evidence suggests that the CaM latch domain plays a critical role in its molecular switch function.
Resources for Peace? Managing Revenues from Extractive Industries in Post-Conflict Environments

Revenues from extractive sectors such as oil and gas, minerals, and logging play an important role in many post-conflict environments, often providing more than 30% of state fiscal receipts. When managed well, these revenues can help to finance postwar reconstruction and other vital peace-related needs. When mismanaged, however, resource revenues can undermine both economic performance and the quality of governance, thereby heightening the risk of renewed violence. This paper offers a number of proposals for managing revenues from extractive industries to better support peacebuilding.
The Appearance of Four Basement Membrane Zone Antigens in Developing Human Fetal Skin

In order to study the ontogeny of various structural and antigenic components of the basement membrane zone of human skin, we have examined skin specimens from 20 aborted fetuses ranging in gestational ages from 6 to 25 weeks, utilizing light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and indirect immunofluorescence with antibodies to bullous pemphigoid antigen, laminin, type IV collagen, and to the antigen defined by KF-1 monoclonal antibody. Both laminin and type IV collagen were detectable as early as 6 weeks of gestational age. In contrast, bullous pemphigoid antigen and the antigen defined by KF- 1 antibody were not detectable before 10 weeks and 16 weeks, respectively. The appearance of bullous pemphigoid antigen correlated with stratification of the epidermis and the formation of hemidesmosomes and anchoring fibrils at the basement membrane zone. KF- 1 antigen is first expressed when the epidermis is further stratified, hemidesmosomes and anchoring fibrils are present in greater numbers and with increased frequency at the dermal-epidermal junction, and hair follicles have begun to bud downward from the basal layer of the epidermis. Our findings suggest an orderly sequence to the appearance of these basement membrane zone components within human skin.
High-resolution structure of infectious prion protein: the final frontier

Prions are the proteinaceous infectious agents responsible for the transmission of prion diseases. The main or sole component of prions is the misfolded prion protein (PrP(Sc)), which is able to template the conversion of the host's natively folded form of the protein (PrP(C)). The detailed mechanism of prion replication and the high-resolution structure of PrP(Sc) are unknown. The currently available information on PrP(Sc) structure comes mostly from low-resolution biophysical techniques, which have resulted in quite divergent models. Recent advances in the production of infectious prions, using very pure recombinant protein, offer new hope for PrP(Sc) structural studies. This review highlights the importance of, challenges for and recent progress toward elucidating the elusive structure of PrP(Sc), arguably the major pending milestone to reach in understanding prions.
Practical Quantitative Fringe Interpretation In A Composite Mobile Holographic Nondestructive Test System

A simplified theoretical model for the interpretation of the double-exposure holographic interference fringe loci due to the general three-dimensional displacements has been derived for the specific composite mobile holographic nondestructive test system. The model, representing a good approximation to a more tedious theoretical result, predicts that a combination of in-plane and out-of-plane displacements of the surface will produce concentric circular-shaped fringe patterns.
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in two non-native hydromedusae in the San Francisco Estuary: Maeotias marginata and Moerisia sp.

We characterized 10 new microsatellite mark- ers in each of two species of hydromedusae, Maeo- tias marginata and Moerisia sp. Genetic diversity was estimated using 20-41 individuals collected from Suisun Marsh within the San Francisco Estuary, CA. Allelic richness ranged from 5-9 in M. marginata and 2-10 in Moerisia sp. with average expected heterozygosities of 0.71 and 0.57 respectively. One locus in M. marginata and two in Moerisia sp. deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equi- librium expectations, likely due to null alleles.
Polylactide‐recycled wood fiber composites

Polylactide (PLA)-recycled wood fiber (RWF) composites with a small amount of silane were compounded using a kinetic-mixer and molded using an injection molding machine. The molded PLA-RWF compo- sites were characterized using gel permeation chromatog- raphy, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter, tensile testing machine, and a dynamic mechanical analyzer. As observed in the stress-strain plots, the amount of necking before fracture decreased with an increasing RWF content. Similarly, the strain-at-break also decreased with the RWF content. The tensile strength remained the same irrespective of the RWF content. Both the tensile modulus and the storage modulus of the PLA-RWF composites increased with the RWF content. The degree of crystallinity of the PLA increased with the addition of RWF. No reduction in the number-average molecular weight (Mn) was observed for pure PLA and PLA-10%RWF-0.5%Silane composites af- ter injection molding; however, substantial reduction in Mn was found in PLA-20%RWF-0.5%Silane composites. Finally, a theoretical model based on Halpin-Tsai empiri- cal relations is presented to compare the theoretical results with that of the experimental results. V C 2008 Wiley Periodi-
Magnetic Moment Calculation for Li 8

BS>An intermediate-coupling model calculation of the Li/sup 8/ nuclear g factor is compared with a recent measurement. The calcalation was carried out as a function of the spinorbit coupling parameter for the relative rate of nuclear forces given by L/K = 6.8. The resulting values of the magnetic moment are given. (W.D.M.) Particle evaporation experiments at energies in excess of 20 Mev have shown a disappointing fit to the theory of energy level densities in excited nuclei. Temperatures deduced from particle evaporation spectra are too low. This fact is to be expected from actual nuclei because of the diffuseness of the actual nuclear potential well, and level densities of highly excited nuclei are a sensitive measure of the details of the shape of the nuclear potential well. (W.D.M.)
Methods for Detecting Recombinant Dna in the Environment

The successful introduction of genetically modified and genetically engineered microorganisms into the environment requires a quantitative evaluation of the survival and dispersion of the microorganisms and specific gene(s) in the environment. The objective of this article is to examine the applicability, suitability, and significance of existing and new methods for detecting and monitoring the recombinant genes or organisms introduced into the environment. Conventional microbiological method(s) involving the selective and differential growth of microorganism(s) and other quantitative approaches such as the most-probable-number (MPN) method and direct microscopic observation (e.g., acridine orange direct count analysis) have drawbacks and are not specific or universally applicable. Direct enumeration by immunofluorescence by the use of fluorescent dye seems more sensitive although still not perfect. However, the molecular methodologies such as the use of gene probes, plasmid epidemiology, antibiotic resistant marker strains, and protein electrophoresis and bacteriophage sensitivity are receiving more attention. As yet, the technology of DNA:DNA hybridization appears to be very useful, sensitive, and accurate for detecting and monitoring the microorganisms in the environment, although improvements are required. New approaches can be developed which may include biochemical signature compounds as well as gene cassettes to be used in a complementary fashion with conventional andmore » molecular techniques for quantifying specific genotypes and genes in the environment. 239 references.« less
Eye movement pattern and accuracy during perceptual-motor performance in young and old adults

Differences between young and old adults in matching a motor response to arrival of a moving stimulus may be partially attributable to age group differences in eye movements. In Experiment 1 the eye movement patterns used by young and old adults during performance of a coincidence-anticipation task were recorded. Age group differences in preferred pattern were noted but did not appear to be linked to task performance level. In Experiment 2, eye tracking error was recorded for young adults and many of the old adults tested in Experiment 1. Age group differences were attributable to task performance rather than eye tracking error. Further, the preferred eye movement pattern did not appear to be stable over time among the subjects retested. The eye-movement reaction time of the old adults was significantly longer than that of the young adults, but this did not appear to hamper the ability of the old adults to distinguish the stimulus speeds. Little evidence was found for linking visual search to task performance error.
“Leaven in the Loaf”: The Wabash Center and Theological Education

. Assessing the impact of Wabash Center programs on theological education, this article focuses on the vocation of the theological educator, particularly on the impact of theological teaching on faith and on the institutions, values, and practices that shape living. Five contributions of the Wabash Center are highlighted: (1) guiding seminary faculty in the practices of teaching, (2) enhancing the teaching preparation of doctoral students for theological education, (3) linking effective teaching to the development of seminary curricula, (4) enlarging the literature on teaching in theological education, and (5) nurturing the vocation of seminary educators.
Urban Particulate Matter Causes ER Stress and the Unfolded Protein Response in Human Lung Cells

Because of its presumed adverse health effects, particulate air pollution (PM) has received growing attention, but the cellular mechanisms by which PM exerts toxicity are not well elucidated. PM has been associated with early mortality from illnesses that share endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress as a mechanism of pathogenesis. In this study, we examined whether PM would induce the unfolded protein response (UPR) which is a cellular response to ER stress. Coarse (PM(10)) and fine (PM(2.5)) PM was collected from a single location in Northern Utah's Cache Valley during atmospheric inversions occurring in January 2002 and January 2003. Extracts of PM samples were added (12.5 and 25 microg/ml) to cultured human bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) cells for 24 h. At these concentrations neither PM nor LPS exhibited demonstrable cytotoxicity by the neutral red assay. However, PM elicited significant increases of unfolded protein response (UPR)-related post-translational modifications, such as S6 ribosomal protein, heat-shock protein (Hsp)27, and protein kinase related protein phosphorylation and cleavage of activating transcription factor (ATF)-6. PM exposure also resulted in significant increases in the UPR-associated proteins ATF-4, Hsp70, Hsp90, and binding immunoglobulin protein. PM also interfered with the export of Hsp70 from the cells in a concentration-dependent manner and resulted in release of C-reactive protein. Calpain was upregulated and activated in PM-treated cultures, though these events were not proapoptotic. This study demonstrates that PM is capable of inducing ER stress and the UPR in vitro and may be a mechanism by which PM exerts toxicity.
Transcriptional Regulator PerA Influences Biofilm-Associated, Platelet Binding, and Metabolic Gene Expression in Enterococcus faecalis

Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen and a leading cause of nosocomial infections, traits facilitated by the ability to quickly acquire and transfer virulence determinants. A 150 kb pathogenicity island (PAI) comprised of genes contributing to virulence is found in many enterococcal isolates and is known to undergo horizontal transfer. We have shown that the PAI-encoded transcriptional regulator PerA contributes to pathogenicity in the mouse peritonitis infection model. In this study, we used whole-genome microarrays to determine the PerA regulon. The PerA regulon is extensive, as transcriptional analysis showed 151 differentially regulated genes. Our findings reveal that PerA coordinately regulates genes important for metabolism, amino acid degradation, and pathogenicity. Further transcriptional analysis revealed that PerA is influenced by bicarbonate. Additionally, PerA influences the ability of E. faecalis to bind to human platelets. Our results suggest that PerA is a global transcriptional regulator that coordinately regulates genes responsible for enterococcal pathogenicity.
What Is the Public's Right to Access Medical Discoveries Based on Federally Funded Research?

Many important medications available today have been developed with public dollars and are costly to patients and other payers. Manufacturers justify these prices on the basis of the substantial research investment required to develop new drugs and conduct clinical trials demonstrating their utility and safety. But this rationale is more problematic when the government has funded a great deal of the seminal research leading to a particular product. Federal resources, primarily through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have directly contributed to the discovery of some of the most transformative (and costly) medicines developed in the past 25 years, including imatinib (Gleevec), paclitaxel (Taxol), and erythropoetin alfa (Epogen).1
Evidence for Insulin Suppression of Baseline Luteinizing Hormone in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and Normal Women

Context: In women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the relationship of insulin to LH secretion and responses to GnRH remains unresolved. A rigorous analytical examination of this relationship has not been performed. Objective: Our objective was to determine the relationship of basal LH secretion and responses to GnRH, insulin, and other endocrine variables in normal and PCOS women. Design: In PCOS and normal women, mean composite 12-h LH secretion was analyzed for correlating factors. LH responses to varying doses of GnRH during a fixed rate of insulin infusion and LH responses to a fixed dose of GnRH during varying doses of insulin infusion were analyzed for contributing factors. Patients and Setting: Eighteen PCOS and 21 normal women underwent studies of frequent blood sampling and GnRH stimulation before and during insulin infusion at theGeneral Clinical Research Center, University of California, San Diego. Main Outcome Measures: Group mean composite 12-h LH levels were assessed with respect to...
A tensile-testing technique for micrometer-sized free-standing thin films

Abstract A tensile-testing technique for micrometer-sized free-standing thin films is described and sample results obtained using the technique are presented. Major components used in the technique include a three-axis micromanipulator, a force sensor, two desktop computers, and a microscope. The design and fabrication of specimens by use of microfabrication methods are an integral part of the technique because they are crucial for testing to be successful. The micromanipulator is computer-controlled and has a speed range from 0.004 to 2 μm/s in each axis. The force sensor is an eddy-current device and has force capacities in millinewtons. The desktop computers are used to control the micromanipulator, and to acquire data and images, which are used to calculate strains with a digital-image-correlation technique. The nominal dimension of a typical specimen is 180 μm × 10 μm × 1 μm and tests can be conducted from ambient temperature (∼23 °C) to 200 °C. Over the last few years, the technique has been successfully used in our laboratory to test polysilicon, pure aluminum, aluminum alloys, photodefinable polyimide, and electrodeposited copper.
Anomalous left main coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery

An 81 year-old Caucasian female presented to the hospital with dyspnea on exertion and was found to be in new onset atrial fibrillation. She has a past medical history of hypertension and has led an active life till her symptoms of dyspnea started. An echocardiogram was performed as a part of the work up showing an ejection fraction of 35 % with moderate mitral valve regurgitation (Fig. 2). Given her new onset cardiomyopathy and reluctance to undergo invasive work up, a pharmacologic nuclear myocardial perfusion stress test was performed showing a moderate sized area of anterolateral wall mixed ischemia and scar with an ejection fraction of 36 % (Fig. 3). A coronary angiography was recommended but patient was still reluctant and preferred a non-invasive work-up. Thus, a cardiac CT angiography was recommended. This showed an anomalous left main coronary artery originating from the proximal main pulmonary artery just beyond the pulmonic valve. The contrast density in the left main coronary artery is slightly higher than in the pulmonary artery and matches the contrast density in the arterial circulation indicating collateral filling of the left coronary system from either the aorta or right coronary artery (Fig. 4). She was started on beta-blockers and lisinopril. She underwent a successful electrical cardioversion preceded by a transesophageal echocardiogram to rule out left atrial appendage clot. She was started and warfarin and discharged. On follow-up 3 months later, she remained in sinus rhythm with significant improvement in her symptoms. A repeated echocardiogram showed significant improvement in the left ventricular ejection fraction to 55 % with only mild mitral regurgitation. On six-month follow-up she remained asymptomatic with improved functional capacity.
A procedure for measuring the contributions of intracellular and extracellular tyrosine pools to the rate of myocardial protein synthesis.

Abstract To determine the relative contribution of intracellular and extracellular amino acid sources as precursors for protein synthesis, rat left atria were incubated in l -[3H]tyrosine at medium tyrosine concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 2.5 m m . Under conditions where protein synthesis was shown to be constant, tyrosine incorporation rates calculated from either the intracellular or extracellular tyrosine concentration. This behavior is consistent with a model which postulates that amino acids inside and outside the cell simultaneously supply a common precursor pool. A method is presented for determining the contributions of the intracellular and extracellular pools to the total protein synthesis rate. Analysis of tyrosine incorporation data according to this procedure yields a total incorporation rate of 1.14 ± 0.18 ( s.e.m. ) nmol tyrosine/mg protein/h, of which 61 ± 15% is attributed to a mixed intracellular source and 39 ± 7% to amino acids taken directly from the extracellular medium. During a 3-h incubation of the isolated atria protein synthesis and degradation rates were equal, and the oxygen consumption and ATP and creatine phosphate levels were similar to those of the beating, perfused heart.
Norepinephrine release in amygdala of rats during chronic nicotine self-administration: an in vivo microdialysis study.

Abstract The essential role of the amygdala in learning and memory, including cue-associated learning, is influenced by local release of norepinephrine (NE). The current study investigated changes in amygdaloid NE secretion in rats learning to self-administer nicotine in an unlimited access model (23 h/day). In vivo microdialysis of NE was performed for 9 h intervals during three phases of nicotine self-administration: acquisition (day 1); early maintenance, when self-administration rates first stabilized (day 8.4±0.7); and later, during fully stable maintenance (day 17.6±1.0). On day 1, a greater number of self-administration episodes (SAEs) were associated with elevated NE levels in rats bar-pressing for nicotine (88% vs. 39% with saline). By early maintenance, such episodes increased threefold and overall NE levels were greater. During later maintenance, however, bar-pressing behavior was similar and NE was elevated by the first SAE of the day, but total daily NE levels were no longer elevated. In all the three phases, the enhanced NE release during the first daily SAE did not occur in the last SAE 9 h later. Thus, in an animal model of unlimited nicotine self-administration that approximates the human pattern of nicotine consumption via smoking, the amygdaloid NE response to nicotine diminishes over each day and with the stabilization of self-administration. The decline of amygdaloid NE secretion after long-term nicotine self-administration likely reflects desensitization to the pharmacological effects of nicotine. In addition, amygdaloid NE release, which enhances the consolidation of amygdala-dependent memory, may no longer be necessary once self-administration behavior has been established.
Critical behavior in the presence of a disordered environment.

We report details of experimental studies of the effect of dilute silica networks on critical phenomena for two binary fluid mixtures: lutidine-water (LW) and isobutyric acid\char21{}water (IBAW). For both mixtures, the primary effect of the silica is to induce a time-independent perturbation of the mixtures' concentration, making it spatially nonuniform. We interpret this as the static response of the critical system to the spatial nonuniformities of the silica concentration. We have measured this response by light scattering and find it is both temperature and concentration dependent, becoming strongly so in the vicinity of the consolute points of the mixtures. We observed no critical fluctuations for the LW-gel system. For the IBAW-gel system, time-dependent scattering was observed, and the temporal autocorrelation function of the scattered intensity revealed three regimes. Well away from the consolute point, the decay was exponential. By taking the effect of the time-independent response of the mixture to the silica gel into account, we found that the decay rates were comparable to those of the pure system. Correlation functions measured closer to the consolute point contained a significant nonexponential component for sufficiently large values of the scattering wave vector. This component is well fitted by either a stretched exponential or an activated form. From the amplitude of the normalized autocorrelation function we deduce that the critical fluctuations are suppressed in amplitude relative to those of the pure system as the consolute point is approached. Sufficiently near the phase boundary of the pure system, a very slowly decaying mode was also observed in the autocorrelation function. This mode died away hours after the small temperature change that induced it. A further temperature change toward the two-phase region induced it agian, while a change in the opposite direction did not. We interpret this behavior as resulting from a phase separation process. IBAW-gel samples held deep in the two-phase region of the pure system for months ordered macroscopically, proving that this system has long-range order in the presence of such silica networks.
Multi-gigabit data-rate optical communication depicting LEO-to-GEO and GEO-to-Ground Links

Communication links with multi-giga-bits per sec (Gbps) data-rates depicting both LEO-GEO and GEO-to-Ground optical communications were characterized in the laboratory. A 5.4 Gbps link, with a capability of 7.5 Gbps, was demonstrated in the laboratory. The breadboard utilized a 13 cm diameter telescope as the transmit aperture that simulates the LEO terminal. The receiver is a 30-cm telescope that simulates the GEO terminal. The objective of the laboratory breadboard development is to validate the link analysis and to demonstrate a multi-gigabit link utilizing off-the-shelf or minimally modified commercially available components (optics and opto-electronics) and subsystems. For a bit-error-rate of 1E-7, the measured required received signal is within 1 to 2 dB of that predicted by the link analysis.
Hybrid electro-optically modulated microcombs.

Optical frequency combs based on mode-locked lasers have proven to be invaluable tools for a wide range of applications in precision spectroscopy and metrology. A novel principle of optical frequency comb generation in whispering-gallery mode microresonators (``microcombs'') has been developed recently, which represents a promising route towards chip-level integration and out-of-the-lab use of these devices. Presently, two families of microcombs have been demonstrated: Combs with electronically detectable mode spacing that can be directly stabilized, and broadband combs with up to octave-spanning spectra but mode spacings beyond electronic detection limits. However, it has not yet been possible to achieve these two key requirements simultaneously, as will be critical for most microcomb applications. Here we present a route to overcome this problem by interleaving an electro-optic comb with the spectrum from a parametric microcomb. This allows, for the first time, direct control and stabilization of a microcomb spectrum with large mode spacing ($g140\text{ }\mathrm{GHz}$) with no need for an additional mode-locked laser frequency comb. The attained residual 1-sec instability of the microcomb comb spacing is ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}15}$, with a microwave reference limited absolute instability of ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}$ at a 140 GHz mode spacing.