cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cytochemical studies of lectin binding sites in smooth membrane cisternae of rat brain

Abstract The cytochemical localization of concanavalin A (con A) binding sites has been studied in Purkinje cell axons and presynaptic terminals of rat cerebellum. Smooth membrane cisternae just beneath the axolemma contain con A binding sites on the side of the membrane facing the cisternal space. At certain regions, such as the node of Ranvier, these cisternae lie in virtual apposition to the axolemma. Such a specialized system of cisternae could serve as a channel through which some of the materials synthesized in the Purkinje somata are moved to the axon terminals. The close association of the cisternae and axolemma at certain regions could be a site at which some of the transported materials contribute to renewal of the axolemma. The con A binding sites on intracellular membranes of the Purkinje cell are removed by prior glycosidic and proteolytic enzyme digestions. The results suggest that at least some of the carbohydrates lining membrane cisternae are glycoprotein in nature.
Ammonia orients cell masses and speeds up aggregating cells of slime moulds

We showed some years ago that the rising cell masses of cellular slime moulds repel one another, and that this is achieved by a gas given off from the cell masses1. It is now clear that this gas is ammonia. We also have evidence that NH3 tends to speed up the movement of cells in aggregating streams which would account for its ability to repel; more NH3 on one side of a cell mass would cause a speed-up of the cells on that side, thus making the mass veer to one side.
Responses of a tundra system to warming using SCAMPS: a stoichiometrically coupled, acclimating microbe–plant–soil model

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2014. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Ecological Monographs 84 (2014): 151-170, doi:10.1890/12-2119.1.
Pregnancy outcomes linked to intimate partner violence: a systematic review

Background Adverse effects of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) during pregnancy on maternal and child health are increasingly recognised as an important public health issue. Purpose To review the multiple maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with physical, sexual and emotional/psychological/verbal IPV exerted during pregnancy and quantify any related impacts. Methods A predefined search algorithm was used to retrieve Medline publications in English during the last 25 years, followed by manual search of references. Studies reporting an association between domestic/spousal/intimate partner violence or abuse and adverse obstetric outcomes including low birth weight (LBW), abortion, fetal loss, preterm labor (PTL), preeclampsia and bleeding were included. Results Individual studies have associated any IPV type history with LBW and PTL, whereas sexual IPV was associated with increased risk of third trimester bleeding, emotional IPV with preeclampsia and physical IPV with both bleeding and PTL. Moreover, physical and sexual IPV increased the risk for induced abortion, whereas emotional IPV had a strong association with spontaneous fetal loss. Physical or sexual violence was strongly associated with obstetric problems in general, premature rupture of membranes, direct physical trauma and fetal injury, in particular. Lastly, the likelihood to obtain prenatal care is suboptimal, whereas increased stress levels and postpartum depression have been also observed. Significance Association of IPV with adverse clinical/psychological outcomes for mothers/children has been already examined, although quantification of the burden is hampered by high heterogeneity levels. Since pregnancy represents a window of opportunity to identify IPV, screening programs and effective interventions should be part of health routines.
Review: Newer screening tests have varied sensitivity and moderate-to-high specificity for detecting colorectal cancer

Source Citation Whitlock EP, Lin JS, Liles E, Beil TL, Fu R. Screening for colorectal cancer: a targeted, updated systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2008...
Development of sampling strategies for larvae of Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in chrysanthemums

Dispersion analysis with Taylor's power law was used in development of binomial sampling plans for larvae of Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) in chrysanthemums. Covariance analysis showed that variance/mean relationships were consistent between different plant strata and between a plot that contained only one chrysanthemum cultivar versus a plot that contained seven different cultivars. Comparison of a constant precision sample ( C = 0.10) and a fixed sample size of 100 leaves showed that the fixed sample size provided better estimates of mean population level. The utility of a sampling plan that allows rapid assessment of immature leafminer population levels in a pest management system is discussed.
Feasibility of solar tents for inactivating weedy plant propagative material

Solar tents, which are safe, inexpensive, and easy to construct, can be used to inactivate unwanted weed plant propagative materials, onsite. During two field trials in the San Joaquin Valley of California, from Sept 2 to 7, 2010, solar tents produced diurnal temperature maxima within closed sample bags of 63.5–76.7°C. The mean maximum temperatures within the sample bags were 32.9–42.1°C higher than those of ambient air, and temperatures ≥60°C were maintained for 3.2–6.0 h each afternoon during the field trials. Rhizome segments, excavated and excised from a local infestation of the important weed pest Sorghum halepense (johnsongrass), were used to evaluate effects of the treatment on weedy plant tissues with vegetative propagation capability. The rhizomes were completely destroyed following confinement within tents for 3 days. Construction suggestions for building onsite solar tents are presented, with emphasis on use of locally available materials. In sufficiently warm climatic areas and weather conditions, solar tents can provide a useful alternative for inactivating weed propagative materials. Potential uses include destruction of quarantined, propagative materials following regulatory roguing interventions in remote locations, or routine roguing of limited scale areas to remove invasive weeds.
The ferroelectric phase transition in(glycine)3・H2SO4 and critical X-ray scattering.

On the assumption that the ferroelectric phase transition in (Glycine) 3 ·H 2 SO 4 is of the order-disorder type, expressions for Bragg reflections and critical scattering of X-rays are given in terms of a long-range order parameter and pair correlation functions. Temperature dependence of the critical scattering is discussed on the basis of the Bragg-Williams approximation and of a modified Frohlich theory. Experimental observations agree with theoretical predictions, and prove that the phase transition is of the order-disorder type. The observed critical scattering exhibits a pronounced peak at the Curie point, suggesting that the local field theory is not a good approximation. The shape of the peak appears to be quite different from that in the ferromagnetic case. It has been found that the sulfur atoms do not shift appreciably when the glycine groups rotate. A method for evaluating the pair correlation function is proposed.
Use of papain in the preparation of adult mammalian skeletal muscle for tissue culture

This report describes in detail a method of enzymatic separation of adult mammalian muscle using papain. The procedure has proved valuable in the preparation of suspensions of muscle cell pieces from normal human skeletal muscle obtained from patients of all ages, from 3 months to 79 years. Muscle cultures have been successfully growth from biopsy material from boys with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy and from their mothers. The procedure was initially established with adult canine skeletal muscle and has also been used for monkey muscle.
DEVELOPMENTAL REGULATION OF ZBU1, A DNA-BINDING MEMBER OF THE SWI2/SNF2 FAMILY

The SWI2/SNF2 gene family has been implicated in a wide variety of processes, involving regulation of DNA structure and chromatin configuration, mitotic chromosome segregation, and DNA repair. Here we report the characterization of the Zbu1 gene, also known as HIP116, located on human chromosome band 3q25, which encodes a DNA-binding member of this superfamily. Zbu1 was isolated in this study by its affinity for a site in the myosin light chain 1/3 enhancer. The protein has single-stranded DNA-dependent ATPase activity, includes seven helicase motifs, and a RING finger motif that is shared exclusively by the RAD5, spRAD8, and RAD16 family members. During mouse embryogenesis, Zbu1 transcripts are detected relatively late in fetal development and increase in neonatal stages, whereas the protein accumulates asynchronously in heart, skeletal muscle, and brain. In adult human tissues, alternatively spliced Zbu1 transcripts are ubiquitous with highest expression in these tissues. Gene expression is also dramatically induced in human tumor lines and in Li-Fraumeni fibroblast cultures, suggesting that it is aberrantly regulated in malignant cells. The developmental profile of Zbu1 gene expression and the association of the protein with a tissue-specific transcriptional regulatory element distinguish it from other members of the SWI2/SNF2 family and suggest novel roles for the Zbu1 gene product.
Effects of sensory deprivation level, visual complexity, and age upon light contingent responses during rearing.

Abstract Rats were reared and tested for 44 days after eye-opening under different light levels, complexity, light intensity, and opportunity for producing light change. Lever pressing frequency was greater for light than for dark reared animals. Rearing condition interaction revealed that ( a ) light onset from darkness increased responses producing a change from homogeneous to heterogeneous visual stimulation, but ( b ) depressed responses producing a change from darkness to homogeneous lighted stimulation. ( c ) With light offset, a change from homogeneous stimulation to darkness increased responses, while ( d ) a change from heterogeneous stimulation to darkness depressed responding. One conclusion suggests that light deprivation decreases the degree of visual stimulus change from adapation level acceptable to the organism. Responding increased steeply with age in most conditions. A decrease and subsequent increase in the age function suggests the operation of a “sensitive” period in rat development, whose onset is driven by degree of sensory input and differs with sex.
Treatment of adult patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency: a clinical practice audit.

ABSTRACT Objective To review one physician’s management of glucocorticoid replacement therapy in adult patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency and to determine the efficacy and the range of effective doses of dexamethasone in managing the clinical and biochemical consequences of this disorder. Methods We conducted a retrospective clinical practice audit of nine patients treated by a single physician for 21-hydroxylase deficiency during the period from March 1998 to January 2002. We documented biochemical control and clinical features of glucocorticoid excess or deficiency for various doses of dexamethasone. Results The final dosage of dexamethasone needed to normalize serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels, to arrest progression of hirsutism, and to eliminate the symptoms and signs of adrenocortical insufficiency while avoiding manifestations of glucocorticoid excess ranged from 0.0625 to 0.875 mg/day, with a mean dosage of 0.4 mg/day. Seven patients had adequate control during the observation period with use of dosages of dexamethasone of 0.5 mg/day or less. Conclusion Adequate control of 21-hydroxylase can be achieved with relatively low doses of dexamethasone; thus, the long-held notion that 0.75 mg of dexamethasone is “equivalent” in glucocorticoid effect to the estimated daily production of cortisol is challenged. These data suggest that physicians should evaluate the doses of glucocorticoids used in their patients with CAH and other forms of primary and central adrenocortical insufficiency because considerable decreases in glucocorticoid doses may be in order. (Endocr Pract. 2003;9:347-352)
Helicobacter pylori induces apoptosis in Barrett’s-derived esophageal adenocarcinoma cells

Helicobacter pylori may protect against the development of dysplasia in Barrett's epithelium of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether H. pylori preferentially induces apoptosis in Barrett's-derived cancer cells compared to normal cells. A Barrett's-derived adenocarcinoma cell line (OE33) was grown. H. pylori wild-type, isogenic vacA-, cagA(-), and picB-/cagE- mutant strains were grown on agar plates. Intact or sonicated bacteria were used to treat normal and OE33 cells for 24 hours, and Hoechst dye binding was performed to measure apoptosis. FAS protein expression was determined by Western immunoblotting. OE33 cells treated with intact H. pylori wild-type strains produced significant (P < 0.05) dose-dependent increases in apoptosis compared to normal esophageal cells. H. pylori wild-type and vacA- isogenic strains were more effective than cagA- and picB-/cage- isogenic strains in inducing apoptosis in OE33 cells. In OE33 cells, H. pylori sonicates produced lower levels of apoptosis than intact bacteria. Wild-type H. pylori strains increased Fas protein expression in OE33 cells at 18 hours. H. pylori induced apoptosis at a higher rate in the Barrett's-derived human esophageal adenocarcinoma cells than in normal esophageal cells. The H. pylori-induced apoptosis was primarily dependent on intact bacteria and the presence of the cagA and picB/cagE gene products. H. pylori-induced apoptosis may involve the Fas-caspase cascade.
A high-yield route to synthesize the P-glycoprotein radioligand [ 11C]N-desmethyl-loperamide and its parent radioligand [ 11C]loperamide

Abstract N -Desmethyl-loperamide and loperamide were synthesized from α,α-diphenyl-γ-butyrolactone and 4-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-hydroxypiperidine in five and four steps with 8% and 16% overall yield, respectively. The amide precursor was synthesized from 4-bromo-2,2-diphenylbutyronitrile and 4-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-hydroxypiperidine in 2 steps with 21–57% overall yield. [ 11 C] N -Desmethyl-loperamide and [ 11 C]loperamide were prepared from their corresponding amide precursor and N -desmethyl-loperamide with [ 11 C]CH 3 OTf through N -[ 11 C]methylation and isolated by HPLC combined with solid-phase extraction (SPE) in 20–30% and 10–15% radiochemical yields, respectively, based on [ 11 C]CO 2 and decay corrected to end of bombardment (EOB), with 370–740 GBq/μmol specific activity at EOB.
Partial Hyperbolic-Tangent Friction Element Based Phenomenological Models for Shape Memory Alloy Pseudoelastic Hysteresis

A new mechanism-based phenomenological model, comprising linear and nonlinear springs and a nonlinear friction element, is presented for the pseudoelastic damping behavior of shape memory alloys. The use of a partial hyperbolic tangent friction element (a hybrid of an ideal and hyperbolic tangent friction element) is seen to increase accuracy in simulating experimental hysteresis behavior over earlier models. Comparisons are then made with existing models. Compared to the thermodynamic-based models, the present models have the benefit of not requiring calculation of austenite-martensite phase transformations. Unlike previously developed phenomenological models, the models presented herein have mechanical analogies that provide a strong physical basis, and clear relationships can be established between the unlocking of the friction element and the occurrence of phase transformation. These models are simpler and more intuitive than existing models.
OVER EXPRESSION OF SMOOTH MUSCLE THIN FILAMENT ASSOCIATED PROTEINS IN THE BLADDER WALL OF DIABETICS

ABSTRACT Purpose: The thin filament associated proteins caldesmon, tropomyosin and calponin have been shown to modulate actin-myosin interaction, actomyosin adenosine triphosphatase and contraction in smooth muscle. This study was performed to determine whether the expression of these proteins is altered in diabetes induced decrease in the contractility of bladder wall smooth muscle. Materials and Methods: Detrusor samples were obtained from New Zealand White male rabbits with alloxan induced diabetes, and from age and sex matched control rabbits. In addition, a bladder myocyte cell line, which continues to express smooth muscle phenotype, was exposed to either normal (5 mM) or high (50 mM) concentrations of glucose. The levels of expression of the thin filament associated proteins were determined at the mRNA and protein levels by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. Results: Detrusor smooth muscle tissue from rabbits with alloxan induced diabetes showed over expression of thin filament associated proteins, calponin, tropomyosin and caldesmon when compared with that of the control. Similar up-regulation was seen also in bladder myocytes in cultures treated with 50 mM glucose, indicating that the high glucose induced the changes. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the increased expression of thin filament proteins, calponin, tropomyosin and caldesmon in diabetic rabbits might alter the contractile and cytoskeletal structure in bladder myocytes. The over expression of these thin filament associated proteins, which suppresses actin-myosin interaction and actomyosin adenosine triphosphatase, and the enhancement of this suppression by tropomyosin are likely to have an effect on the relationship between force and myosin light chain phosphorylation, requiring higher levels of phosphorylation in diabetic detrusor compared with that of control. The downstream effects of high glucose (eg oxidative stress) appear to modulate the transcriptional regulation of thin filament mediated regulatory proteins in bladder smooth muscle.
Susceptibility and resistance of chicken macrophages to avian RNA tumor viruses.

Abstract Macrophages from several genetic lines of chickens are susceptible to avian leukosis and sarcoma viruses of subgroups B and C but are resistant to viruses of subgroups A, D, E, F and G, even when fibroblasts derived from the same embryos are susceptible. This observation suggests that the macrophage-specific resistance is epigenetic. If the fibroblasts of a chicken embryo are genetically resistant to subgroup B or C, this resistance is also maintained in macrophages. Although chicken macrophages show active phagocytosis in cultures, they cannot initiate infection by the defective Bryan high-titer strain of Rous sarcoma virus, R(−), which lacks glycoproteins needed to enter chicken cells. Subgroup B and C viruses also activate the endogenous chicken helper factor when they replicate in macrophages derived from factor-positive embryos. However, compared to fibroblasts, the levels of exogenous as well as endogenous virus synthesized by macrophages are reduced. Studies with viral pseudotypes and with recombinants of viral envelope markers suggest that the avian tumor viral host range in macrophages is controlled by an envelope component of the virion. Macrophage-specific resistance to subgroups A and D–G is thus likely to reflect failure of the virus to penetrate into the cell because of the absence of an appropriate cellular receptor. In the experiments with recombinants several viral clones were found which showed host range characteristics of both parental viruses. The molecular basis for these intermediate host range recombinants has not yet been determined.
Decreased adenylate cyclase responsiveness of transformed cells correlates with the presence of a viral transforming protein

The adenylate cyclase responsiveness of transformed fibroblastic and epithelial cell lines to forskolin, fluoride, guanine nucleotides and cholera toxin was reduced compared to their parental counterparts. This phenomenon was observed in lines transformed by either RNA or DNA tumor viruses, and in the case of polyoma virus, coincided with the expression of middle T antigen. The data suggest that decreased responsiveness of adenylate cyclase to non-hormone activators is a general consequence of viral transformation and may be related to viral regulation of protein kinase activity.
Contrails, Cirrus Trends, and Climate

Rising global air traffic and its associated contrails have the potential for affecting climate via radiative forcing. Current estimates of contrail climate effects are based on coverage by linear contrails that do not account for spreading and, therefore, represent the minimum impact. The maximum radiative impact is estimated by assuming that long-term trends in cirrus coverage are due entirely to air traffic in areas where humidity is relatively constant. Surface observations from 1971 to 1995 show that cirrus increased significantly over the northern oceans and the United States while decreasing over other land areas except over western Europe where cirrus coverage was relatively constant. The surface observations are consistent with satellite-derived trends over most areas. Land cirrus trends are positively correlated with upper-tropospheric (300 hPa) humidity (UTH), derived from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) analyses, except over the United States and western Europe where air traffic is heaviest. Over oceans, the cirrus trends are negatively correlated with the NCEP relative humidity suggesting some large uncertainties in the maritime UTH. The NCEP UTH decreased dramatically over Europe while remaining relatively steady over the United States, thereby permitting an assessment of the cirrus‐contrail relationship over the United States. Seasonal cirrus changes over the United States are generally consistent with the annual cycle of contrail coverage and frequency lending additional evidence to the role of contrails in the observed trend. It is concluded that the U.S. cirrus trends are most likely due to air traffic. The cirrus increase is a factor of 1.8 greater than that expected from current estimates of linear contrail coverage suggesting that a spreading factor of the same magnitude can be used to estimate the maximum effect of the contrails. From the U.S. results and using mean contrail optical depths of 0.15 and 0.25, the maximum contrail‐cirrus global radiative forcing is estimated to be 0.006‐0.025 W m22 depending on the radiative forcing model. Using results from a general circulation model simulation of contrails, the cirrus trends over the United States are estimated to cause a tropospheric warming of 0.28‐0.38C decade21, a range that includes the observed tropospheric temperature trend of 0.278C decade21 between 1975 and 1994. The magnitude of the estimated surface temperature change and the seasonal variations of the estimated temperature trends are also in good agreement with the corresponding observations.
Thiamin content of chicken muscle and effect of purification variables on determined values.

Abstract Experiments were conducted to investigate 1) effects of selected purification variables [flow rate, temperature, and volume of eluent using two resins, Decalso and Bio-Rex 70 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Richmond, CA)] on the determined thiamin values of fried chicken and 2) effects of cooking methods on thiamin content of fast food-fried chicken breast muscle using a modified Association of Official Analytical Chemists method. With Decalso, a flow rate of less than 1 mL/min produced satisfactory recovery of thiamin in a standard solution of more than 94%; the use of a faster flow rate of more than 1.5 mL/min resulted in a low recovery value (around 82%). Hot eluent temperature significantly increased thiamin recovery from 90.1 to 99.4%. Thiamin recovery from the Bio-Rex 70 was affected minimally by eluent flow rate, eluent temperature, and eluent volume. A recovery value of about 97% was obtained from the Bio-Rex 70 at all flow rates, with the highest value at 1.5 mL/min. Generally, the use of Bio-Rex 70 resulted in slightly lower determined thiamin values for fried chicken meat but higher and more consistent recovery of a standard thiamin solution than the use of Decalso. The thiamin contents of chicken breast muscles cooked by the two methods were not significantly different (pressure-fried chicken, .207; open vat-fried chicken, .239 mg/100 g on a moisture and fat-free basis).
The freshman weight gain phenomenon revisited

Earlier studies associated the first year of college with a dramatic increase in body weight, termed the "freshman 15". However, recent studies showed that weight gain might be smaller. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the extent of observed weight/body composition changes, including factors associated with them, among students entering university. Searches were conducted for studies examining weight/body composition changes during freshman semesters. Most studies were not comprehensive in assessing numerous potential causative factors for weight gain. Methods for assessing diet, physical activity, and behavioral factors varied among studies. Weight changes were often not quantified by measures of body composition (lean/fat) to ascertain that changes were limited just to gains in fat mass. Overall, weight changes ranged from 0.7-3.1 kg, but among individuals who gained weight, the range was narrower, 3.1-3.4 kg. There may be specific groups of students with a greater predisposition for weight gain and future research should focus on identifying those groups.
Morphological diversity of medusan lineages constrained by animal–fluid interactions

Cnidarian medusae, commonly known as jellyfish, represent the earliest known animal taxa to achieve locomotion using muscle power. Propulsion by medusae requires the force of bell contraction to generate forward thrust. However, thrust production is limited in medusae by the primitive structure of their epitheliomuscular cells. This paper demonstrates that constraints in available locomotor muscular force result in a trade-off between high-thrust swimming via jet propulsion and high-efficiency swimming via a combined jet-paddling propulsion. This trade-off is reflected in the morphological diversity of medusae, which exhibit a range of fineness ratios (i.e. the ratio between bell height and diameter) and small body size in the high-thrust regime, and low fineness ratios and large body size in the high-efficiency regime. A quantitative model of the animal–fluid interactions that dictate this trade-off is developed and validated by comparison with morphological data collected from 660 extant medusan species ranging in size from 300 µm to over 2 m. These results demonstrate a biomechanical basis linking fluid dynamics and the evolution of medusan bell morphology. We believe these to be the organising principles for muscle-driven motility in Cnidaria.
ACCE: Automatic correction of control-flow errors

Detection of control-flow errors at the software level has been studied extensively in the literature. However, there has not been any published work that attempts to correct these errors. Low-cost correction of CFEs is important for real-time systems where checkpointing is too expensive or impossible. This paper presents automatic correction of control-flow errors (ACCE), an efficient error correction algorithm involving addition of redundant code to the program. ACCE has been implemented by modifying GCC, a widely used C compiler, and performance measurements show that the overhead is very low. Fault injection experiments on SPEC and MiBench benchmark programs compiled with ACCE show that the correct output is produced with high probability and that CFEs are corrected with a latency of a few hundred instructions.
Evaluation and use of remotely piloted aircraft systems for operations and research – RxCADRE 2012

Small remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), also known as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), are expected to provide important contributions to wildland fire operations and research, but their evaluation and use have been limited. Our objectives were to leverage US Air Force-controlled airspace to (1) deploy RPAS in support of the 2012 Prescribed Fire Combustion and Atmospheric Dynamics Research (RxCADRE) project campaign objectives, including fire progression at multiple scales and (2) assess tactical deployment of multiple RPAS with manned flights in support of incident management. We report here on planning for the missions, including the logistics of integrating RPAS into a complex operations environment, specifications of the aircraft and their measurements, execution of the missions and considerations for future missions. Deployments of RPAS ranged both in time aloft and in size, from the Aeryon Scout quadcopter to the fixed-wing G2R and ScanEagle UAS. Real-time video feeds to incident command staff supported prescribed fire operations and a concept of operations (a planning exercise) was implemented and evaluated for fires in large and small burn blocks. RPAS measurements included visible and long-wave infrared (LWIR) imagery, black carbon, air temperature, relative humidity and three-dimensional wind speed and direction.
Gerontology and Communication Disorders: A Model for Training Clinicians.

This article addresses the need for speech pathologists and audiologists to develop knowledgeable awareness of primary and secondary health factors that affect the aging population. The inter‐relationship between normal age‐rated changes and pathological aging is not always clear. Factors that affect diagnosis can be physical, sensory, or cognitive in nature. The role of the clinician as a facilitator for providing management approaches and services to the elderly and their families is defined. The utilization of contributing physical, social, and psychological factors is considered in developing serviceable programs for the older person in our society.
Atmospheric-Noise FSK Error Probabilities for an Envelope-Detection Receiver

A useful expression for FSK error probability with atmospheric noise interference, equal to one half the probability that the noise envelope exceeds the signal envelope, previously derived for a bandpass-filter discriminator FSK receiver applies as well to a matched-filter envelope-detection receiver. This error probability for Gaussian noise interference is equivalent to a more common expression defined in terms of signal energy and noise power density.
Characterization of Voltage-Dependent Ca2+ Channels in β-Cell Line

Although there is compelling pharmacological evidence based on Ca2+-channel antagonist studies suggesting that the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels regulate insulin release, no direct comparison with Ca2+ currents exists. This is particularly important because of the recent demonstration in other cell types of one and possibly two Ca2+ channels that are insensitive to Ca2+-channel antagonists, the dihydropyridines and the phenylalkylamines. Using an SV40-transformed pancreatic β-cell line (HIT cells), we determined how voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels are involved in stimulus-secretion coupling. Ca2+ currents were measured with the tight-seal technique for wholecell recording. The cytosolic free-Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]1) was followed with the fluorescent probe Fura 2, and the measurements were compared with insulin secretion stimulated by depolarizing the cells with K+. The Ca2+ current contained two components: arapidly decaying current activated at –50 to –40 mV that decayed with a time constant of 25 ms anda very slowly decaying component activated at –40 mV. Both components were sensitive to the Ca2+-channel antagonist nimodipine. There is excellent agreement in the concentration of nimodipine that inhibited Ca2+ current and the increase in [Ca2+1], in response to K+ depolarization (IC50 of 15 and 6 nM, respectively). Nimodipine inhibited insulin release over a similar dose-response range with an IC50of 1.5 × 10 9 M. These studies indicate that the increase in [Ca2+1], in response to β-cell depolarization can be accounted for by the influx of this ion through a single class of dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channels in the cell membrane.
Wavelength-division multiplexed digital optical position transducer.

A novel concept for a digital optical position tranducer is presented. This compact and rugged device is electrically passive and requires only a dual-fiber optical link. Wavelength division of a broad-spectrum semiconductor light source is employed to multiplex the channels of a 10-bit digital position encoder. A preliminary design was evaluated and found to have a 10-dB on-off contrast ratio and a 12-dB insertion loss.
Wiggler insertion of the PEP-II B-Factory LER

The Low Energy Ring (LER) of the PEP-II B Factory at SLAC employs two identical wiggler insertions for emittance control and extra damping with each insertion designed to absorb 400 kW of synchrotron radiation. The wiggler is a set of individual iron core dipoles designed to operate at 1.6 T. The basic variant will include nine 0.4-m length magnets and two 0.2-m length magnets. A copper vacuum chamber is used with continuous antechambers connected to both sides of the beam chamber via slots. Synchrotron radiation dump surfaces and distributed vacuum pumping are located in both antechambers. We describe the design and analysis of the vacuum chamber, dump and magnets.
Beginning with the end in mind: Evaluating outcomes of cultural competence instruction in a doctor of physical therapy programme

The education of physical therapists must prepare them for autonomous practice providing culturally appropriate care. Models are available to guide curricular changes for cultural competence but little is available on methods to assess the outcomes. This article describes two methods to measure outcomes of cultural competence instruction in physical therapy education. These methods are the integrated standardised patient examination (ISPE) and a refugee screening program. These outcomes will determine how cultural curricular changes will drive student learning. The ISPE assesses cultural competence in a simulated clinical setting, utilising standardised patients (SP), who are trained lay people, to portray particular medical conditions. Patient concerns such as depression, anger, silence, cultural barriers, signs of domestic violence, etc. that students may not be exposed to in clinical experiences can be portrayed in the ISPE and assessed against defined standards of cultural competence. A refugee screening programme allows students to practice culturally appropriate care and measures outcomes of the cultural curriculum. Students meet with recent refugees while using a translator to obtain a health history and complete a systems review. Students discuss the results of their screening and make recommendations to the refugee and the primary physician. Students complete a debriefing questionnaire about the experience and their academic preparation.
Stationary Structures in a Discrete Bistable Reaction–Diffusion System

A detailed description of the stationary patterns observed in one-, two- and three-dimensional bistable reaction–difusion media is presented. Because of the intrinsic nature of the system, no spatial constraints are found and completely new structures arise. The mechanism stabilizing these patterns is similar to the Turing structures case for a monostable media. The most important factors determining the final stationary structures observed are also stressed out.
Risk of Prostate Cancer Recurrence in Men Treated With Radiation Alone or in Conjunction With Combined or Less Than Combined Androgen Suppression Therapy

Purpose We determined the risk of recurrence in men enrolled on a randomized trial for prostate cancer who were treated with radiation therapy (RT) alone or in conjunction with combined or less than combined androgen suppression therapy (AST). Patients and Methods Between 1995 and 2001, 206 men with localized but unfavorable-risk adenocarcinoma of the prostate were randomly assigned to receive RT or RT and AST, which was defined as 6 months of both a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist and an antiandrogen. A post–random assignment hypothesis that was generated by multivariable Cox regression analyses was used to evaluate whether the risk of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence was significantly associated with months of antiandrogen use; regression analysis adjusted for known prognostic factors, comorbidity score, and medications that can elevate liver function tests sufficiently to necessitate discontinuation of the antiandrogen. Results After a median follow-up of 8.2 years (interquartil...
The PXL1 Gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Encodes a Paxillin-like Protein Functioning in Polarized Cell Growth

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae open reading frame YKR090w encodes a predicted protein displaying similarity in organization to paxillin, a scaffolding protein that organizes signaling and actin cytos...
Proton MR Spectroscopy in Metabolic Assessment of Musculoskeletal Lesions

OBJECTIVE. The purposes of this review are to describe the principles and method of MR spectroscopy, summarize current published data on musculoskeletal lesions, and report additional cases that have been analyzed with recently developed quantitative methods. CONCLUSION. Proton MR spectroscopy can be used to identify key tissue metabolites and may serve as a useful adjunct to radiographic evaluation of musculoskeletal lesions. A pooled analysis of 122 musculoskeletal tumors revealed that a discrete choline peak has a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 68% in the detection of malignancy. Modest improvements in diagnostic accuracy in 22 of 122 cases when absolute choline quantification was used encourage the pursuit of development of choline quantification methods.
MethylMix: an R package for identifying DNA methylation-driven genes.

Summary: DNA methylation is an important mechanism regulating gene transcription, and its role in carcinogenesis has been extensively studied. Hyper and hypomethylation of genes is an alternative mechanism to deregulate gene expression in a wide range of diseases. At the same time, high-throughput DNA methylation assays have been developed generating vast amounts of genome wide DNA methylation measurements. Yet, few tools exist that can formally identify hypo and hypermethylated genes that are predictive of transcription and thus functionally relevant for a particular disease. To accommodate this lack of tools, we developed MethylMix, an algorithm implemented in R to identify disease specific hyper and hypomethylated genes. MethylMix is based on a beta mixture model to identify methylation states and compares them with the normal DNA methylation state. MethylMix introduces a novel metric, the ‘Differential Methylation value’ or DM-value defined as the difference of a methylation state with the normal methylation state. Finally, matched gene expression data are used to identify, besides differential, transcriptionally predictive methylation states by focusing on methylation changes that effect gene expression. Availability and implementation: MethylMix was implemented as an R package and is available in bioconductor. Contact: ude.drofnats@treaveg.reivilo
Isleria, a new genus of antwren (Aves: Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae)

A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Thamnophilidae indicated that the genus Myrmotherula is not monophyletic. The clade composed of M. guttata and M. hauxwelli is only distantly related to other members of the genus and should be removed from Myrmotherula. The phenotypic distinctiveness of the clade argues against merging it with its sister group Thamnomanes and no generic name is available for the guttata-hauxwelli clade. Consequently, we describe the genus Isleria for these two species, and designate Myrmothera guttata as its type species.
Design of a pragmatic test lab for evaluating and testing wireless medical devices

In today's healthcare environment there is an increasing move towards mobile technology to meet clinical needs. Wireless communication is key to allowing medical devices to be able to move with the patient, while continuing to record and communicate patient data. Each application has demands on the connectivity infrastructure such as availability, reliability, and data payload capability. Furthermore, wireless medical device applications may share RF spectrum resources with a host of other non medical device applications.
Computational Simulations Reveal How Calmodulin Methionine Oxidation Triggers Large-Scale Changes in Structural Dynamics

We have examined the structural consequences of methionine (Met) oxidation in the calcium-sensing muscle regulatory protein calmodulin (CaM) using molecular dynamics simulations. Protein oxidation by reactive oxygen species (ROS), and subsequent reduction by the antioxidant enzyme methionine sulfoxide reductase, has emerged as a crucial cell regulatory mechanism. In the context of oxidative stress, protein oxidation is implicated in disease progression and biological aging. Our goal is to bridge our understanding of muscle dysfunction and protein oxidation with atomic-level insights into site-specific methionine oxidation and calmodulin structural dynamics.We have carried out multiple 50 ns molecular dynamics simulations of explicitly solvated calmodulin, starting from the calcium-bound (1cll) and apo (1cfd) structures. Simulations were performed using NAMD (University of Illinois) and the CHARMM27 force-field. Simulations suggest that Met oxidation alters the flexibility of calcium binding sites, the conformation of the linker helix connecting the lobes, and the relative orientation of the lobes. This work is a component of a larger study in which spectroscopic distance measurements and NMR experiments have been used to resolve the structural impact of site-specific CaM Met oxidation. We expect that our in silico results will bring atomic-level insight to spectroscopic measurements, and will be integral to creating a more complete model for oxidation-induced changes in CaM structural dynamics.This work is supported by a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Faculty Research Grant to JC Klein, NIH grants to DD Thomas (R37AG026160), and the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute.
Repetition-related reductions in neural activity reveal component processes of mental simulation

In everyday life, people adaptively prepare for the future by simulating dynamic events about impending interactions with people, objects and locations. Previous research has consistently demonstrated that a distributed network of frontal–parietal–temporal brain regions supports this ubiquitous mental activity. Nonetheless, little is known about the manner in which specific regions of this network contribute to component features of future simulation. In two experiments, we used a functional magnetic resonance (fMR)-repetition suppression paradigm to demonstrate that distinct frontal–parietal–temporal regions are sensitive to processing the scenarios or what participants imagined was happening in an event (e.g. medial prefrontal, posterior cingulate, temporal–parietal and middle temporal cortices are sensitive to the scenarios associated with future social events), people (medial prefrontal cortex), objects (inferior frontal and premotor cortices) and locations (posterior cingulate/retrosplenial, parahippocampal and posterior parietal cortices) that typically constitute simulations of personal future events. This pattern of results demonstrates that the neural substrates of these component features of event simulations can be reliably identified in the context of a task that requires participants to simulate complex, everyday future experiences.
Seasonal Patterns of Arthropod Diversity and Abundance on Big Sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata

The sagebrush biotype is the largest in the western United States. This vast sagebrush community is thought to harbor equally vast and diverse arthropod communities, but these remain little explored. Our objective was to examine the diversity, abundance, and seasonal phenology of arthropod taxa found on the dominant shrub of the sage- brush ecosystem, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). We wanted to improve understanding of this little-studied arthro- pod assemblage that may play significant roles in the dynamics of sagebrush populations and the sagebrush ecosystem. We sampled free-living and gall-forming arthropods from a stratified random sample of sagebrush plants at the Barton Road Ecological Research Area, Idaho, resulting in a sample of over 8000 individuals and 232 morphospecies. Species richness and abundance declined from May to August, and abundance of most taxa similarly declined over the summer. A few taxa, including Acari (mites), were notably more abundant in August. Fluid feeders were the most diverse and abundant free-living feeding guild during all months and comprised up to 79% of morphospecies. The gall formers included 4713 individuals of 12 species of gall flies (Rhopalomyia spp.), primarily (97%) R. ampullaria. Abundance of galls increased from small to large (presumably young to old) plants. Overall, A. tridentata was host to a high diversity of arthropods, some of which have potential to cause or mitigate significant damage to their host plant. Arthropods seem likely to have the greatest impact on sagebrush early in the growing season, when they are most diverse and abundant. Documentation of the full diversity of arthropods associated with sagebrush required samples taken throughout the growing season, but a single sample early in the growing season captured a high proportion of taxa.
Remote measurement of breathing rate in real time using a high precision, single-point infrared temperature sensor

This paper presents a novel approach for remotely monitoring a user's breathing rate in real-time using a high precision, single-point infrared sensor. Remote breathing detection is especially useful for rehabilitative robotic applications such as post-stroke and post-operative cardiac therapies, where continuous monitoring of a patient's physical stress level can be used to adjust the level and duration of physical exertion throughout the course of therapy. Additionally, socially assistive robots which discreetly collect breathing information from their users, can customize interactions based on the perceived physiological state of the patient. The proposed approach is an important potential improvement for therapies where user mobility is an inherent part of the therapy and when users have a general aversion to being fitted with sensors. Further, due to its relatively small size and modular design, existing rehabilitative robot systems can be retrofitted with the proposed breathing detection system to enhance and extend their functionality. This research delivers a new technique for capturing changes in the sub-nasal skin surface temperature to monitor breathing events. Temperatures are obtained by tracking the sub-nasal region of the face, continuously targeting and sampling the infrared sensor. The breathing rate is automatically extracted using a sinusoidal curve-fitting function which provides an estimated rate in breaths per minute. Results from preliminary tests show this system effectively captures breathing rates within an error rate of under 2 breaths per minute in excess of 70% of typical test cases.