cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chronic Ethanol During Adolescence Impacts Corticolimbic Dendritic Spines and Behavior.

Background Risk for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in adulthood is linked to alcohol drinking during adolescence, but understanding of the neural and behavioral consequences of alcohol exposure during adolescence remains incomplete. Here, we examined the neurobehavioral impact of adolescent chronic intermittent EtOH (CIE) vapor exposure in mice. Methods C57BL/6J-background Thy1-EGFP mice were CIE-exposed during adolescence or adulthood and examined, as adults, for alterations in the density and morphology of dendritic spines in infralimbic (IL) cortex, prelimbic (PL) cortex, and basolateral amygdala (BLA). In parallel, adolescent- and adult-exposed C57BL/6J mice were tested as adults for 2-bottle EtOH drinking, sensitivity to EtOH intoxication (loss of righting reflex [LORR]), blood EtOH clearance, and measures of operant responding for food reward. Results CIE during adolescence decreased IL neuronal spine density and increased the head width of relatively wide-head IL and BLA spines, whereas CIE decreased head width of relatively narrow-head BLA spines. Adolescents had higher EtOH consumption prior to CIE than adults, while CIE during adulthood, but not adolescence, increased EtOH consumption relative to pre-CIE baseline. CIE produced a tolerance-like decrease in LORR sensitivity to EtOH challenge, irrespective of the age at which mice received CIE exposure. Mice exposed to CIE during adolescence, but not adulthood, required more sessions than AIR controls to reliably respond for food reward on a fixed-ratio (FR) 1, but not subsequent FR3, reinforcement schedule. On a progressive ratio reinforcement schedule, break point responding was higher in the adolescent- than the adult-exposed mice, regardless of CIE. Finally, footshock punishment markedly suppressed responding for reward in all groups. Conclusions Exposure to CIE during adolescence altered dendritic spine density and morphology in IL and BLA neurons, in parallel with a limited set of behavioral alterations. Together, these data add to growing evidence that key corticolimbic circuits are vulnerable to the effects of alcohol during adolescence, with lasting, potentially detrimental, consequences for behavior.
“Feels Blind”: Counter-Hegemony in Alternative Rock During the Reagan/Thatcher Era

This chapter examines the rise of alternative music as a challenge to mainstream hegemony. Born out of college rock, jangle pop, post-punk, and hardcore punk, alternative music evolved through the 1980s by constructing its own structures including record stores, college radio, and the spirit of “doing it yourself.” Alongside an independent infrastructure, alternative rock produced a counter-hegemonic, non-mainstream approach to music—ranging from political engagement to aesthetics. Ironically, this music from the margins eventually became the hegemonic music in the late 1980s and early 1990s, reflecting the way mainstream culture regenerates its marketing power through the incorporation of alternative cultures.
MRI-Guided Robotically Assisted Focal Laser Ablation of the Prostate Using Canine Cadavers

Objective: a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-conditional needle guidance robot is developed to enhance MRI-guided focal laser ablation (FLA) therapy in patients with focal prostate cancer. Methods: inspired by the workflow of the manual FLA therapy, we developed an MRI-conditional robot with two degrees of freedom to provide the guidance for laser ablation catheter. This robot is powered by pneumatic turbine motors and encoded with the custom-designed optical encoder. The needle could be inserted manually through the designed robotic system, which keeps the patients inside MRI bore throughout the procedure. The robot hardware is integrated with the custom ablation planning and monitoring software (OncoNav) to provide an iterative treatment plan to cover the whole ablation zone. Virtual tumors were selected in three canine cadavers as targets to validate the performance of the proposed hardware and software system. Results: phantom studies show that the average targeting error is less than 2 mm and the workflow of the entire procedure lasts for 100 minutes. Canine cadaver experiment results show that all the targets were successfully ablated in no more than three administrations. Significance: MRI-guided prostate FLA is feasible using the proposed hardware and software system, indicating potential utility in future human trials.
The impact of a high-definition multileaf collimator for spine SBRT

Purpose Advanced radiotherapy delivery systems designed for high-dose, high-precision treatments often come equipped with high-definition multi-leaf collimators (HD-MLC) aimed at more finely shaping radiation dose to the target. In this work, we study the effect of a high definition MLC on spine stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatment plan quality and plan deliverability. Methods and materials Seventeen spine SBRT cases were planned with VMAT using a standard definition MLC (M120), HD-MLC, and HD-MLC with an added objective to reduce monitor units (MU). M120 plans were converted into plans deliverable on an HD-MLC using in-house software. Plan quality and plan deliverability as measured by portal dosimetry were compared among the three types of plans. Results Only minor differences were noted in plan quality between the M120 and HD-MLC plans. Plans generated with the HD-MLC tended to have better spinal cord sparing (3% reduction in maximum cord dose). HD-MLC plans on average had 12% more MU and 55% greater modulation complexity as defined by an in-house metric. HD-MLC plans also had significantly degraded deliverability. Of the VMAT arcs measured, 94% had lower gamma passing metrics when using the HD-MLC. Conclusion Modest improvements in plan quality were noted when switching from M120 to HD-MLC at the expense of significantly less accurate deliverability in some cases.
Geometry of Cyclic Quantum Evolutions

The geometric phase and angles are generalized to relative cyclic evolutions of a quantum system, which makes them invariant under time dependent unitary transformations. The geometric phase due to a sequence of measurements is generalized to the non abelian geometric phase factor associated with the cyclic evolution of a degenerate subspace.
Coagulation Factor XIIa

Plasma coagulation Factor XII is a zymogen of a trypsin-like serine protease, Factor XIIa, whose activation results in prekallikrein, factor XI, plasminogen and complement C1 activation. Factor XII has the unique ability to autoactivate when exposed to negatively charged, artificial surfaces. As a result of this phenomenon, Factor XII was thought to be an initiator of blood-plasma coagulation reactions, because when whole blood or plasma is added to a glass tube, a cascade of proteolytic reactions occurs that result in thrombin formation and the proteolysis of fibrinogen leading to clot formation. However, when factor XII deficient patients were recognized, the deficiency is not associated with bleeding. Therefore, the notion that activated forms of factor XII initiated physiologic hemostasis was dropped. Similarly, activated forms of factor XII were thought to be the initiator of activation of the plasma kallikrein/kinin system. However, recent studies showing that there is an unique prekallikrein, but not factor XII, activator associated with endothelial cells indicate that factor XII is activated secondarily to prekallikrein activation on cells …
About... Software, Surveillance, Scariness, Subjectivity (and SVEN)

The text discusses cultural and political implications of the subjective aspects of software and the SVEN project. 1 SVEN (Surveillance Video Enter- tainment Network) is a public space software art project that uses custom com- puter vision software to detect pedestrians who in some way look like rock stars. The text introduces general audiences to SVEN's approach to software subjectivity—in this case, concerning computer vision surveillance software. It also presents examples of software bias in contemporary culture and proposes software literacy as a public educational goal.
Stochastic Differential Equations: Controlled and Uncontrolled

This chapter introduces the basic models for the controlled and uncontrolled (limit) processes that are to be used. These are all some form of stochastic differential equation (SDE). Section 1 deals with the classical diffusion process, without reflections. A brief summary of the Ito construction of a solution is given, and that method will be adapted to the problem with reflections in Sections 4 and 5. Controlled diffusions are introduced in Subsection 1.2. Part of the book, as well as most of the work on heavy traffic analysis published to date, concerns limits of uncontrolled processes, or where the control is fixed in some simple way. Then the material on controls in this chapter is not needed. It is more efficient to deal with the controlled and uncontrolled problems together. But if the reader is concerned only with the uncontrolled problem, all references to controls in the definitions, conditions, and theorems can be safely ignored.
Effect of surfactant phase in perfluorocarbon emulsification efficiency.

The effect of preparation temperature on the emulsification efficiency of perfluoro-3-butyltetrahydrofuran (FC-75) was investigated. Polyoxyethylene (POE) oleyl ether surfactants were used as the emulsifier(s) in a range of HLB values of 7.5 to 9.5. The emulsions were prepared by paddle mixing as a method of low-shear emulsification. After centrifugation of the resulting O/W emulsions, the volume of FC-75 which separated was utilized as a measure of the emulsification efficiency. In general, emulsions prepared at temperatures where the surfactant was in a lamellar-to-isotropic surfactant solution transition, Lα→ L3, displayed a better emulsification efficiency than those prepared with other surfactant phases.
Probiotics for Diarrheal Diseases

In recent years, a large body of literature has been generated on the use of probiotics. Regarded initially as alternative medicine, probiotics – mostly lactic acid bacteria – has gained their position in mainstream medicine, after a robust research activity covering both in vitro and in vivo studies, as well as randomized clinical trials. In terms of diarrheal diseases, the most promising applications appear in the prevention and/or the treatment of acute gastroenteritis, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, neonatal-necrotizing enterocolitis, and ulcerative colitis. It should be kept in mind that different strains of probiotics have different specificities, so no generalizations on the efficacy (or lack thereof) of “probiotics” should be made. This chapter will analyze the evidence for the use of probiotics in such diarrheal diseases; in some cases this is quite consolidated, in others still emerging.
Shinnyo-En and the Formulation of a New Esoteric Iconography

In 1936, Itō Shinjō established the modern lay esoteric Buddhist group known today as Shinnyo-en, The Garden of Truth. This article surveys the ways in which Itō used image and text to reimagine Ja...
BK channel clustering is required for normal behavioral alcohol sensitivity in C. elegans

The large conductance, calcium- and voltage-activated potassium channel, known as the BK channel, is one of the central proteins that mediate alcohol intoxication and tolerance across species. Although ethanol targets BK channels through direct interaction, how ethanol-mediated BK channel activation causes behavioral intoxication is poorly understood. In. C. elegans, loss of function in SLO-1, the BK channel ortholog, confers profound ethanol resistance in movement and egg-laying behaviors. Here, we show that depletion of SLO-1 channels clustered at the active zones with no change in the overall channel expression level results in locomotory resistance to the intoxicating effect of ethanol, equivalent to that of slo-1 loss-of-function mutants. Likewise, depletion of clustered SLO-1 channels in the sarcolemma and neurons leads to ethanol-resistant egg-laying behavior. By contrast, reduction in the overall SLO-1 channel level by over 70% causes only moderate ethanol resistance in movement, and minimal, if any, resistance in egg laying. Our findings strongly suggest that behavioral ethanol sensitivity is conferred by local, but not global, depression of excitability via clustered BK channels. Given that clustered BK channels are functionally coupled to, and localize near, calcium channels, ethanol may mediate its behavioral effects by targeting BK channels and their coupled calcium channels.
Too Big to Be Activist

Big investment managers, such as Vanguard and Fidelity, have accumulated an astonishing amount of common stock in America’s public companies—so much that they now have enough corporate votes to control entire industries. What will these big managers do with their potential power? This Article argues that they will do less than we might think. And the reason is paradoxical: the biggest managers are too big to be activists. Their great size creates intense internal conflicts of interest that make aggressive activism extremely difficult or even impossible. The largest managers operate hundreds of different investment funds, including mutual funds, hedge funds, and other vehicles that all invest in the same companies at the same times. This structure inhibits activism, because it turns activism into a source of internal conflict. Activism by one of a manager’s funds can damage the interests of the manager’s other funds. If a BlackRock hedge fund invests in a company’s equity at the same time a BlackRock mutual fund invests in the company’s debt, then any attempt by either fund to turn the company in its favor will harm the interests of the other fund. The hedge fund and mutual fund might similarly come into conflict over the political and branding risks of activism and the allocation of costs and profits. Federal securities regulation and poison pills can create even more conflicts, often turning activism by a hedge fund into serious legal problems for its manager’s entirely passive mutual funds. A big manager, in other words, is like a lawyer with many clients: its advocacy for one client can harm the interests of another. The debate about horizontal shareholding and index fund activism has ignored this truth. Research on horizontal ownership tends to treat a manager and its funds as though they were a single unit with no differences among them. The debate over index fund activism goes the opposite direction, often treating a mutual fund as though it were completely isolated from the other funds that share the same management. By introducing a subtler understanding of big managers’ structures, we can understand shareholder activism more clearly. Among other things, I show why aggressive activism tends to come entirely from small managers—that is, from the managers whose potential for activism is actually the weakest. It's because these managers' small size avoids internal conflict.
Review of Art as Social Action: An Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Teaching Social Practice Art

Edited by faculty and graduate students at Social Practice Queens (SPQ), a pedagogical partnership between Queens College, City University of New York, and the Queens Museum, Art as Social Action: ...
Learning Tableau: A data visualization tool

“Doing economics” is an important theme of undergraduate economics programs. Capstone courses increasingly include instruction in “data literacy” and the STEM-related skills of quantitative and emp...
A Low-Power 70–100-GHz Mixer-First RX Leveraging Frequency-Translational Feedback

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication systems mandate strict power and area requirements for receiver (RX) front ends, while noise performance can be relaxed due to averaging over the array. To address these needs at mm-waves, we propose an integrated mixer-first RX, leveraging frequency-translational feedback and passive voltage gain, to minimize the RX power consumption. An analytical model is developed, thus providing useful intuition on optimal design choices. A 28-nm CMOS prototype achieves S11 $E$ -band (71–95 GHz), while consuming only 12 mW including the local oscillator buffers. The power can be further reduced to 8 mW, with similar performance over a 74–94-GHz RF bandwidth.
/sup 209/Bi(/sup 3/He,d)/sup 210/Po and /sup 209/Bi(/sup 4/He,t)/sup 210/Po reactions and some matrix elementsof the residual interaction

The ($^{3}\mathrm{He}$, $d$) and ($^{4}\mathrm{He}$, $t$) single proton transfer reactions on $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ and $^{209}\mathrm{Bi}$ were studied using 30 and 40 MeV He beams. The outgoing reaction products were detected by a position sensitive proportional counter in the focal plane of a quadrupole-three-dipole spectrometer. The resolution varied between 10 and 14 keV full width at half maximum. Using the ratio of cross sections for the ($^{3}\mathrm{He}$, $d$) and ($^{4}\mathrm{He}$, $t$) reactions to determine $l$ transfers, spectroscopic factors for the reactions on $^{209}\mathrm{Bi}$ have been measured relative to the transitions to the single-particle states observed in reactions on $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$. Sum rules are applied and diagonal matrix elements of the effective interaction between valence protons around the $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}$ core are deduced. The matrix elements obtained from empirical interactions and from realistic calculations are compared to these extracted matrix elements.NUCLEAR REACTIONS $^{209}\mathrm{Bi}(^{3}\mathrm{He}, d)^{210}\mathrm{Po}$, $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}(^{3}\mathrm{He}, d)^{209}\mathrm{Bi}$ ${E}_{^{3}\mathrm{He}}=30$ MeV and $^{209}\mathrm{Bi}(^{4}\mathrm{He}, t)^{210}\mathrm{Po}$, $^{208}\mathrm{Pb}(^{4}\mathrm{He}, t)^{209}\mathrm{Bi}$ ${E}_{^{4}\mathrm{He}}=40$ MeV. Measured differential cross sections with a resolution of 10-14 keV (FWHM). Sum rule analysis and deduction of matrix elements of the residual interaction in nuclei.
Cracking the Design Complexity of Nanostructures using Geometric Deep Learning

We present a new approach based on machine learning algorithms for inverse design of photonic nanostructure to provide the desired response while iteratively reducing the complexity of the structure to minimize the design complexity.
Charm and Beauty in Particle Physics

The spectra of states containing charmed and beauty quarks, and their regularities, are reviewed.
Effect of cohabiting partners on the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms after emergency department visits for stroke and transient ischemic attack.

Abstract Objective Partners can be beneficial for patients experiencing stressful health events such as a stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA). During such events, however, partners may exacerbate early distress. The present study tested whether having a cohabiting partner modified the association between patients’ early perceptions of threat (e.g., feeling vulnerable, helpless) and longer-term posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Methods Participants (N = 328) were drawn from an observational cohort study of patients evaluated for stroke/TIA at an urban academic hospital between 2016 and 2019. Participants self-reported emergency department (ED) threat perceptions and PTSS secondary to the stroke/TIA at three days and one month post-event. Results Cohabiting partner status modified the association of ED threat with early PTSS. Patients with a cohabiting partner exhibited a positive association between ED threat and early PTSS, B = 0.12, p Conclusions ED threat perceptions were positively associated with early PTSS only for patients with a cohabiting partner. For patients who do not initially experience a stroke/TIA event as threatening, cohabiting partners may help patients maintain psychological equanimity.
Assessing the impact of global warming on productivity in emerging economies of Asia

Over the past decade, a consensus has emerged among scientists that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by human activities are responsible for changing the earth's climate, which in turn has increased human vulnerability. It is observed that increasing temperatures cause work stress, fatigue and decrease the cognitive abilities of workers. It also affects machines' performance, thereby decreasing labour and capital productivity. Given the importance of productivity for the long-term economic growth and sustainability of economies, this study investigates the impact of global warming on productivity by using a panel data of selected emerging economies of Asia covering a time span of 27 years ranging between 1990 and 2016. The fixed effects model has been used for empirical estimation. The results indicate that global warming has turned out to be a major source of productivity loss.
In vivo dynamic 3D imaging of oocytes and embryos in the mouse oviduct.

Summary Developmental biologists have always relied on imaging to shed light on dynamic cellular events. However, processes such as mammalian fertilization and embryogenesis are generally inaccessible for direct imaging. In consequence, how the oviduct (fallopian tube) facilitates the transport of gametes and preimplantation embryos continues to be unanswered. Here we present a combination of intravital window and optical coherence tomography for dynamic, volumetric, in vivo imaging of oocytes and embryos as they are transported through the mouse oviduct. We observed location-dependent circling, oscillating, and long-distance bi-directional movements of oocytes and embryos that suggest regulatory mechanisms driving transport and question established views in the field. This in vivo imaging approach can be combined with a variety of genetic and pharmacological manipulations for live functional analysis, bringing the potential to investigate reproductive physiology in its native state.
Lipoprotein(a): A Cardiovascular Risk Factor Affecting Ethnic Minorities

Lipoprotein(a) is a plasma circulating apoB100 (apoB) containing lipoprotein. It has a unique glycoprotein bound to the apoB100, apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)]. Most individuals have two circulating isoforms in plasma. Its levels are mostly genetically determined. Studies in large populations have established elevated levels of Lp(a) to be a causal risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. Lp(a) levels differ across ethnic groups and Black individuals of sub-Saharan descent have higher levels when compared to White individuals. Published genetic and epidemiological studies lack inclusion of large minority populations, highlighting a need in the field. There is a lack of standardization in the commercial assays used to measure Lp(a) levels, and hence it is difficult to assess risk based on individual Lp(a) levels. The risk seems to occur in the upper five percentile of the population. In this chapter, we highlight Lp(a) biology and physiology with a focus on available data from ethnically diverse cohorts. We include the latest findings from these cohorts and discuss future directions on treatments in the field.
Food and Identity in Early Rabbinic Judaism

In a recent book titled Eating Animals, author Jonathan Safran Foer reflects on the ethics of meat-eating.1 At one point, he comments: “There are thousands of foods on the planet, and explaining why we eat the relatively small selection we do requires some words. We need to explain that the parsley on the plate is for decoration, that pasta is not a ‘breakfast food,’ why we eat wings but not eyes, cows but not dogs. Stories establish narratives, and stories establish rules.”2 As a scholar of rabbinic Judaism, I often confront ancient texts that provide complex narratives and rules. Looking behind such narratives and rules, I encounter the kind of stories that concern Safran Foer. In this essay, I discuss how these stories about food practices in early rabbinic, or tannaitic, literature work together to establish narratives and rules that help to construct a distinct identity.
The HSE audit

Human health and safety (HSE) approach to occupational health and safety requires a more comprehensive identification of workplace attributes that has been traditionally used in the conduct of a typical facility audit. In integrating the real workplace into its real environment, it is necessary to examine the interactive physical, material, operational, procedural, human, and informational aspects and attributes of both the workplace and its environment. Physical aspects include all constructed and naturally occurring structural and physical features of the workplace and its environment as well as their spatial relationships. Physical aspects include not only obvious structures such as buildings, sheds, tanks, silos, transmission hues, containment dikes, reactor vessels, stacks, and roadways, but also underground pipes and conduits, landforms, groundwater aquifers, unconsolidated soils, and surface water supplies. Material aspect include not only manufacturing feedstock and wastes but also products and by-products of the manufacturing process.
Measuring a Pervasive Psychic Structure in Psychotherapy: The Core Conflictual Relationship Theme

I’ll first tell the story of the preparation for tracking a whale-sized theme, “the core conflictual relationship theme,” and then tell its method. The idea surfaced recently after a long search for the curative factors in psychotherapy (Luborsky, in press). It took shape as part of the perspective gained after seeing the consistent results of the three largest multivariate predictive psychotherapy studies: the Chicago Counseling Center Project (Fiske, Cartwright & Kirtner, 1964), the Mitchell et al. Arkansas Project (1973), and the Penn Psychotherapy Project (Luborsky et al., in progress).
Electrostatic Effects on Partitioning of Proteins in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems: I. pH and Charge Equilibria

Abstract The charge on a protein molecule is obviously an average, and here the role of charge distribution is accounted for by using Hill's small system thermodynamics. The conventional equation of protein charging is obtained in a very simple manner, and with a more accurate description of the electrostatic effects some insight into anomalous effects is also obtained. The importance of straightening out the charge effects becomes obvious in treating the more complicated system of partitioning proteins in an aqueous two-polymer two-phase system. Correct dependence of the partition coefficient on the charge is obtained. This takes the form that the logarithm of the partition coefficient is proportional to the square of the charge at low charges and only to the charge at large values, in keeping with the experimental data. However, it is only easy to get some form of upper limit and difficult to quantify individual cases because of the large number of variables involved and because detailed data are unavailable. An explanation has been given as to why the logarithm of the partition coefficient versus charge (zp or z2p) plots have varying slopes and intercepts. This explanation lies in the asymmetry of the polymer distribution and thus provides an explanation as to why the protein partitions unequally, in that the asymmetrically distributed polymers affect the charge and ion equilibria in proteins differently and thus partition proteins differently into the two phases. Obviously, the polymer molecular weight distribution is a key feature in determining this asymmetry and, with one polymer bimodally distributed, it is possible to show that if some amount of the same polymer of a larger molecular weight is added it steepens the partitioning, but a lower molecular weight fraction has no effect.
d-Ribulose 1,5-Diphosphate Carboxylase from Rhodospirillum rubrum I. LEVELS, PURIFICATION, AND EFFECTS OF METALLIC IONS

Abstract Ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylase has been purified 15-fold from derepressed butyrate-grown Rhodospirillum rubrum to a specific activity of 1.76 µmoles of ribulose 1,5-diphosphate carboxylated per min per mg of protein at pH 8.0 and 30°. The enzyme, which is recovered in 30 to 35% yield, is homogeneous by the criterion of electrophoresis in gels polymerized from several concentrations of acrylamide. Immunochemical procedures were also used to establish homogeneity. The carboxylase is strongly activated by EDTA and dithiothreitol after storage if Mg2+ is present. There is an absolute requirement of Mg2+ for catalysis as only 0.05% activity is detected in its absence. Other divalent cations cannot be substituted for magnesium. Preincubation with Mg2+ plus bicarbonate and initiation of catalysis with ribulose 1,5-diphosphate is required to achieve maximal rates. Homogeneous preparations could be stored without activity loss in the frozen state or at 2° in either phosphate or Tris buffers.
Tissue reaction to root canal cements containing paraformaldehyde. Two case studies.

Abstract A report is presented of two human teeth treated with root canal cements containing PFA. Though the endodontic treatment was successful, the teeth were removed for other reasons. Histologic sectioning showed the following: 1. 1. There was good tissue tolerance where the disseminated root canal cement came in contact with remaining vital tissues. (It should be pointed out that the absence of an inflammatory response or even the absence of chronic inflammatory cells adjacent to the particles of cement in the tissue could be attributable to: (1) the anti-inflammatory action of the steroid in the preparation; (2) the fixing properties of the paraformaldehyde; it is possible that the immediately contiguous tissue was fixed before cells could find their way into the tissue spaces; (3) the combined action of the steroid and the paraformaldehyde could even be synergistic. The anti-inflammatory activity in and the fixation of adjacent tissue could have occurred simultaneously. Thus, microscopically such a section of tissue could be interpreted as being normal when indeed it had been fixed prior to removal and thereby made incapable of manifesting responses.) 2. 2. Dissemination of the root canal cement—it was found dispersed throughout the surrounding tissues as far as the epithelial attachment. 3. 3. No evidence of encapsulation was seen in any of the slides.
Lymphoma models for B-cell activation and tolerance

Abstract ECH408-1 is a murine B cell lymphoma expressing idiotypically and allotypically distinguishable transfected and endogenous IgD. Previously, we demonstrated that this cell line was not growth inhibited by antibodies directed at membrane IgD, but could be inhibited by antibodies which crosslink membrane IgM. Herein, we demonstrate that both anti-μ and anti-δ will cause calcium mobilization in this transfected cell line; this is followed by a period during which antibodies against the alternative isotype are unable to induce significant increases in intracellular calcium concentrations. This phenomenon, called “desensitization,” is short-lived, lasting 20 min. We further demonstrate that acute desensitization of these cells by anti-δ has no effect on immediate growth inhibition which is elicited by anti-μ. These data confirm our earlier proposal that the rapid, initial calcium response seen in these lymphomas is not required for the negative signal for growth. Moreover, we also demonstrate that pretreatment of these lymphoma cells with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) also renders these lymphoma cells temporarily incapable of manifesting a significant calcium signal. Nonetheless, PMA-pretreated B lymphoma cells are not altered in their subsequent sensitivity to anti-μ growth inhibition, nor are they affected in their resistance to inhibition by anti-δ. Our data confirm the proposal that neither the calcium signal nor protein kinase-C activation is involved in the modulation of B lymphoma growth.
Identification and tracing of ambiguous names: discriminative and generative approaches

A given entity - representing a person, a location or an organization - may be mentioned in text in multiple, ambiguous ways. Understanding natural language requires identifying whether different mentions of a name, within and across documents, represent the same entity. We present two machine learning approaches to this problem, which we call the "Robust Reading" problem. Our first approach is a discriminative approach, trained in a supervised way. Our second approach is a generative model, at the heart of which is a view on how documents are generated and how names (of different entity types) are "sprinkled" into them. In its most general form, our model assumes: (1) a joint distribution over entities (e.g., a document that mentions "President Kennedy" is more likely to mention "Oswald" or "White House" than "Roger Clemens"), (2) an "author" model, that assumes that at least one mention of an entity in a document is easily identifiable, and then generates other mentions via (3) an appearance model, governing how mentions are transformed from tile "representative" mention. We show that both approaches perform very accurately, in the range of 90% - 95% F1 measure for different entity types, much better than previous approaches to (some aspects of) this problem. Our extensive experiments exhibit the contribution of relational and structural features and, somewhat surprisingly, that the assumptions made within our generative model are strong enough to yield a very powerful approach, that performs better than a supervised approach with limited supervised information.
Towards guidelines for evaluation of measures: an introduction with application to spinal cord injury.

AbstractBackground: Both clinical practice and research in spinal cord injury (SCI) continue to struggle with issues of the quality and utility of outcome measures employed. Despite widespread deference to dicta on "reliability and validity," systematic means of grading the level of evidence for measures are lacking.Objectives: This paper explains the methods and principles for use in systematic reviews of measures in SCI. It explains how extant measurement standards and principles can be elaborated for extant labels on various types of reliability and validity to define a more judicious method of grading level of evidence. We aim to initiate a process of discussion that will lead to improved systematic review of the measurement quality as a basis for long-term improvements in outcomes measures and their application.Methods: This paper is a conceptual review, based on established measurement standards and principles and the incorporation of recent advances in measurement methodology. The scheme of grading...
Alcohol disrupts endoplasmic reticulum function and protein secretion in hepatocytes

Background: Many alcoholic patients have serum protein deficiency that contributes to their systemic problems. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is induced in response to disequilibrium in the protein folding capability of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is implicated in hepatocyte lipid accumulation and apoptosis, which are associated with alcoholic liver disease (ALD). We investigated whether alcohol affects ER structure, function, and UPR activation in hepatocytes in vitro and in vivo. Methods: HepG2 cells expressing human cytochrome P450 2E1 and mouse alcohol dehydrogenase (VL-17A) were treated for up to 48 hours with 50 and 100 mM ethanol. Zebrafish larvae at 4 days postfertilization were exposed to 350 mM ethanol for 32 hours. ER morphology was visualized by fluorescence in cells and transmission electron microscopy in zebrafish. UPR target gene activation was assessed using quantitative PCR, in situ hybridization, and Western blotting. Mobility of the major ER chaperone, BIP, was monitored in cells by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Results: VL-17A cells metabolized alcohol yet only had slight activation of some UPR target genes following ethanol treatment. However, ER fragmentation, crowding, and accumulation of unfolded proteins as detected by immunofluorescence and FRAP demonstrate that alcohol induced some ER dysfunction despite the lack of UPR activation. Zebrafish treated with alcohol, however, showed modest ER dilation, and several UPR targets were significantly induced. Conclusions: Ethanol metabolism directly impairs ER structure and function in hepatocytes. Zebrafish are a novel in vivo system for studying ALD.
Near-Bottom Turbulence and Sediment Resuspension Induced by Nonlinear Internal Waves

Abstract : The transition to fully turbulence under fully nonlinear internal solitary waves (NLIWs) has been investigated. Very well resolved Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of the separated bottom boundary layer BBL under a NLIW of depression have been conducted. Exploratory and production runs involving typically 1.5 billion grid points have been executed on state-of-the-art DoD Facilities accessible via a Frontier contract. NLIWs propagating into quiescent waters and against oncoming barotropic currents with their own BBL have been studied. In the former set-up, a 3-D near-bed vortex wake forms only when volumetric forcing is included, whereas in the former a self-sustained near-bed turbulent wake occurs in the NLIWs lee through a complex spontaneous transition to turbulence. Integral measures and the energetics of the NLIW-driven BBL have been quantified. Mechanisms of particulate resuspension have been investigated through Lagrangian Coherent Structure (analysis) and the quantification of wave and wake-driven pressure signals at the bed.
BANG1D:: a one-dimensional, Lagrangian model of subaqueous turbid surges☆

BANG1D simulates the mechanics of a subaqueous,turbid surge,a seafloor-failure-induced turbidity current that behaves like a snow avalanche or a pyroclastic burst. BANG1D uses the one-dimensional,layer-averaged equations for the conservation of fluid,sediment,momentum and turbulent kinetic energy in a turbidity current. The Lagrangian forms of these equations are solved explicitly at nodes within the turbid surge as they are tracked moving at discrete time steps across a bathymetric profile. BANG1D simulations compare well with experimental data of turbid flows and with simulations produced by other numerical models. Intermodel comparisons demonstrate the importance of frictional drag at the base of a turbid flow and entrainment across its surface in retarding accelerations induced by fluid pressures and gravity. Sensitivity tests also show that a constraint must be placed on the erosive power of the flow. This is accomplished in BANG1D by coupling the shear velocity at the base of the flow to its turbulent kinetic energy. Use of this coupling results in successful simulations of experimental sediment-laden turbid flows,but not experimental saline flows,which do not carry sediment. This latter finding suggests that additional research is needed into the linkage between frictional drag along a sedimentary boundary and the turbulent kinetic energy in turbid flows. # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Primary care providers' views on chronic pain management among high-risk patients in safety net settings.

Objective. We examined chronic pain management practices and confidence and satisfaction levels in treating chronic pain among primary care providers (PCPs) who cared for high-risk patients in safety net health settings. Design. We recruited PCPs (N = 61) through their HIV-infected patients who were enrolled in a longitudinal study on pain, use, and misuse of opioid analgesics (Pain Study). We asked PCPs to complete a questionnaire about all of their patients in their practice on the prevalence of chronic pain and illicit substance use, use of opioid analgesics, confidence and satisfaction levels in treating chronic pain, and likelihood of prescribing opioid analgesics in response to clinical vignettes. Results. All PCPs cared for at least some patients with chronic pain, and the majority prescribed opioid analgesics for its treatment. All PCPs cared for at least some patients who used illicit substances. PCPs reported low confidence and satisfaction levels in treating chronic pain. The majority (73.8%) of PCPs were highly likely to prescribe opioid analgesics to a patient without a history of substance use who had chronic pain. The majority (88.5%) were somewhat to highly likely to prescribe opioid analgesics to a patient with a prior history of substance use but not active use. Most (67.2%) were somewhat to highly likely to prescribe opioids to a patient with active substance use. Conclusion. In order to improve PCPs' confidence and satisfaction in managing chronic pain, further work should explore the root causes of low confidence and satisfaction and also explore possible remedies.
Outcome reliability in non-ambulatory boys/men with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Background Therapeutic trials in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) often exclude non-ambulatory individuals. Here we establish optimal and reliable assessments in a multicenter trial.
Neurovascular Unit and the Effects of Dosage in VEGF Toxicity: Role for Oxidative Stress and Thrombin

Bidirectional communication between neurons and vascular cells is important to the maintenance of the central nervous system (CNS) milieu. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), through its ability to affect both vascular and neuronal cells, is likely a key protein in this process. Despite considerable literature documenting a neuroprotective function for VEGF, overexpression of this protein has also been shown in a wide variety of CNS diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Increased oxidative stress and elevated thrombin levels have also been documented in AD, specifically in the microvasculature. The aim of the current study is to examine endothelial cells and neurons in vitro to determine the effects of oxidative stress and thrombin on VEGF release as well as the effects of low and high dose VEGF on neuronal viability. The data show that microvessels isolated from AD patients secrete significantly higher levels of VEGF compared to control-derived vessels. Exposure of brain endothelial cells to oxidative stress (sodium nitroprusside, menadione, or hydrogen peroxide) or thrombin significantly increases VEGF expression. Exposure of cultured neurons to oxidative stress increases expression of thrombin. Treating rat cortical neurons with high dose VEGF (≥500 ng/ml) decreases neuronal survival and expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 while increasing proapoptic proteins caspase 3 and phosphorylated p38 MAPK. High dose VEGF also negates the decrease in amyloid-β evoked by low dose VEGF. These results suggest that despite literature supporting neuroprotective effects of this protein, caution is warranted prior to implementation of VEGF as a therapeutic in the brain.
Friend support and psychological distress in a U.S. adult twin sample

Friend support is often assumed to exert direct environmental influences on psychological distress, yet the role of both genetic and environmental influences on this association has not been examined. This study investigates whether both genetic and environmental factors explain the link between friend support and psychological distress in adults. The sample was drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States study and included 947 pairs of monozygotic, same-sex dizygotic (DZ), and opposite-sex DZ twins. Results showed that genetic influences explain the association between friend support and psychological distress, suggesting that heritable contributions to friend support also shape psychological distress. Interventions focused on psychological distress should consider how individuals' heritable characteristics influence their friend support and psychological distress.
Fidelity of recovery, squashed entanglement, and measurement recoverability

This paper defines the fidelity of recovery of a tripartite quantum state on systems $A,\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}B$, and $C$ as a measure of how well one can recover the full state on all three systems if system $A$ is lost and a recovery operation is performed on system $C$ alone. The surprisal of the fidelity of recovery (its negative logarithm) is an information quantity which obeys nearly all of the properties of the conditional quantum mutual information $I(A;B|C)$, including non-negativity, monotonicity with respect to local operations, duality, invariance with respect to local isometries, a dimension bound, and continuity. We then define a (pseudo) entanglement measure based on this quantity, which we call the ``geometric squashed entanglement.'' We prove that the geometric squashed entanglement is a 1-LOCC monotone (i.e., monotone nonincreasing with respect to local operations and classical communication from Bob to Alice), that it vanishes if and only if the state on which it is evaluated is unentangled, and that it reduces to the geometric measure of entanglement if the state is pure. We also show that it is invariant with respect to local isometries, subadditive, continuous, and normalized on maximally entangled states. We next define the surprisal of measurement recoverability, which is an information quantity in the spirit of quantum discord, characterizing how well one can recover a share of a bipartite state if it is measured. We prove that this discordlike quantity satisfies several properties, including non-negativity, faithfulness on classical-quantum states, invariance with respect to local isometries, a dimension bound, and normalization on maximally entangled states. This quantity, combined with a recent breakthrough of Fawzi and Renner, makes it possible to characterize states with discord nearly equal to zero as being approximate fixed points of entanglement-breaking channels (equivalently, they are recoverable from the state of a measuring apparatus). Finally, we discuss a multipartite fidelity of recovery and several of its properties.
Imaging the Ascending Aorta and Aortic Arch Using Transesophageal Echocardiography: The Expanded Aortic View

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) imaging of the aorta requires multiple views and is limited by its inability to visualize the distal ascending aorta and proximal aortic arch ("blind spot"). Recent advances in ultrasound technology allow improved imaging of cardiac structures. In this study we describe the ability to image the aortic valve, entire ascending aorta, and aortic arch in one view, the "expanded aortic view" obtained from a novel proximal transgastric window. In 22 patients, an expanded aortic view was acquired with the transducer positioned in a proximal transgastric position using new generation ultrasound system with a TEE probe that incorporates increased range of mobility. Fluoroscopy imaging was performed to confirm the position of transducer in relation to the cardiac anatomy. In 7 of 22 patients, the ability to achieve this view was also tested using an older echocardiography system. The novel proximal transgastric plane allowed reliable images of the aortic valve, ascending aorta including the "blind spot," and aortic arch in a single view-the expanded aortic view.