cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interaction of terahertz transients and broadband optical pulses in quantum wells

A theoretical study of the interaction of intense terahertz transients and broadband optical pulses in quantum wells is presented. The approach is based on a numerical solution of the anisotropic semiconductor Bloch equations and includes, self-consistently, both continuum and excitonic effects. In the optical regime we recover the dynamic Franz–Keldysh effect showing THz sidebands in the optical absorption spectrum. In the THz regime we discern a series of harmonically generated upshifted THz transients. It is demonstrated pictorially that the upshifted transients are formed by the creation of highly anisotropic interfering, relative-motion electron–hole wave packets. We also investigate the influence of ellipticity of the driving field and chirped optical pulses. The field interaction with the quantum well is shown to be highly nonperturbative for typical free-electron laser fields. A series of propagating charge-carrier wave packets are analyzed, and a connection is made to analogies in the high-field physics of atomic ensembles.
Cellular Mechanisms of Aortic Valve Calcification

Acquired aortic valve disease and valvular calcification is highly prevalent in adult populations worldwide and is associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. At present, there are no medical therapies that will prevent or regress aortic valve calcification or stenosis and surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement remain the only effective therapies for treating this disease. In the setting of valve injury as a result of exposure to biochemical mediators or hemodynamic forces, normal homeostatic processes are disrupted resulting in extracellular matrix degradation, aberrant matrix deposition and fibrosis, inflammatory cell infiltration, lipid accumulation, and neoangiogenesis of the valve tissue and, ultimately, calcification of the valve. Calcification of the aortic valve is now understood to be an active process that involves the coordinated actions of resident valve endothelial and interstitial cells, circulating inflammatory and immune cells, and bone marrow-derived cells. These cells may undergo a phenotype transition to become osteoblast-like cells and elaborate bone matrix, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and form matrix vesicles that serve as a nidus for microcalcifications. Each of these mechanisms has been shown to contribute to aortic valve calcification suggesting that strategies that target these cellular events may lead to novel therapeutic interventions to halt the progression or reverse aortic valve calcification.
Novel transient outward K+ current of mature murine hippocampal neurones

Hippocampal neurones were freshly isolated from the brain of adult mice and voltage-dependent K+ currents were recorded with the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Three components of transient K+ current (IA) were isolated when analyzing data with exponential functions or treating neurones with a variety of voltage protocols and pharmacologic agents. Subtraction of the delayed rectifier current (I K) from the K+ currents elicited after prepulses to –120 mV of varying duration revealed fast (IAf) and slow (IAs) components with decay time constants of 45 ± 8 and 612 ± 140 ms, respectively; the corresponding time constants for the removal of inactivation were 12.3 and 189.6 ms. Both tetraethylammonium and dendrotoxin selectively inhibited IAs. 4-Aminopyridine (4-AP) specifically blocked IAf and 40% of IAs with different affinities. Therefore, the properties of a 4-AP-resistant (IAsR) and a 4-AP-sensitive (IAsS) component of IAs were compared. These data suggest that three distinct subtypes of K+ currents contribute to the IA of mature murine hippocampal neurones.
Them who kill the body: Christian ideals and political realities in the interior of southern Africa during the 1850s

This article considers the changing political significance of Christianity in the interior of southern Africa during the 1850s, focusing primarily on the views of Tswana rulers, converts and others within their communities, and secondarily on attempts by European missionaries to reconcile their service both to African communities and to European expansion, which compelled them to articulate a rationale for their civilising mission. The article historicises the process whereby Christianity lost its initial universalistic ideals and became politicised by African-European competition, with divine sanction being claimed by one side or another. That process was accompanied by considerable debate and doubt: the separation of believers from unbelievers, faith from works and souls from bodies was far from clear or certain. Although African converts would ultimately continue to pursue the promise of equality offered by Christian teachings, they would do so more as individuals than as intact African communities, su...
Evaluation of Olive as a Host of Xylella fastidiosa and Associated Sharpshooter Vectors

Olive (Olea europaea) trees exhibiting leaf scorch or branch dieback symptoms in California were surveyed for the xylem-limited, fastidious bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. Only approximately 17% of diseased trees tested positive for X. fastidiosa by polymerase chain reaction, and disease symptoms could not be attributed to X. fastidiosa infection of olive in greenhouse pathogenicity assays. Six strains of X. fastidiosa were isolated from olive in Southern California. Molecular assays identified strains recovered from olive as belonging to X. fastidiosa subsp. multiplex. Pathogenicity testing of olive strains on grapevine and almond confirmed that X. fastidiosa strains isolated from olive yield disease phenotypes on almond and grapevine typical of those expected for subsp. multiplex. Mechanical inoculation of X. fastidiosa olive strains to olive resulted in infection at low efficiency but infections remained asymptomatic and tended to be self-limiting. Vector transmission assays demonstrated that glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis) could transmit strains of both subspp. multiplex and fastidiosa to olive at low efficiency. Insect trapping data indicated that two vectors of X. fastidiosa, glassy-winged sharpshooter and green sharpshooter (Draeculacephala minerva), were active in olive orchards. Collectively, the data indicate that X. fastidiosa did not cause olive leaf scorch or branch dieback but olive may contribute to the epidemiology of X. fastidiosa-elicited diseases in California. Olive may serve as an alternative, albeit suboptimal, host of X. fastidiosa. Olive also may be a refuge where sharpshooter vectors evade intensive areawide insecticide treatment of citrus, the primary control method used in California to limit glassy-winged sharpshooter populations and, indirectly, epidemics of Pierce's disease of grapevine.
Dark side of Higgs diphoton decays and muon g-2

We propose that the LHC hints for a Higgs diphoton excess and the muon $g\ensuremath{-}2\text{ }\text{ }({g}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{-}2)$ discrepancy between theory and experiment may be related by vectorlike ``leptons'' charged under both $U(1{)}_{Y}$ hypercharge and a ``dark'' $U(1{)}_{d}$. Quantum loops of such leptons can enhance the Higgs diphoton rate and also generically lead to $U(1{)}_{Y}\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}U(1{)}_{d}$ kinetic mixing. The induced coupling of a light $U(1{)}_{d}$ gauge boson ${Z}_{d}$ to electric charge can naturally explain the measured ${g}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{-}2$. We update ${Z}_{d}$ mass and coupling constraints based on comparison of the electron $g\ensuremath{-}2$ experiment and theory, and find that explaining ${g}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{-}2$ while satisfying other constraints requires ${Z}_{d}$ to have a mass $\ensuremath{\sim}20--100\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$. We predict new Higgs decay channels $\ensuremath{\gamma}{Z}_{d}$ and ${Z}_{d}{Z}_{d}$, with rates below the diphoton mode but potentially observable. The boosted ${Z}_{d}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ in these decays would mimic a promptly converted photon and could provide a fraction of the apparent diphoton excess. More statistics or a closer inspection of extant data may reveal such events.
Linearity and Shift Invariance for Quantitative Magnetic Particle Imaging

Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) is a promising tracer imaging modality that employs a kidney-safe contrast agent and does not use ionizing radiation. MPI already shows high contrast and sensitivity in small animal imaging, with great potential for many clinical applications, including angiography, cancer detection, inflammation imaging, and treatment monitoring. Currently, almost all clinically relevant imaging techniques can be modeled as systems with linearity and shift invariance (LSI), characteristics crucial for quantification and diagnostic utility. In theory, MPI has been proven to be LSI. However, in practice, high-pass filters designed to remove unavoidable direct feedthrough interference also remove information crucial to ensuring LSI in MPI scans. In this work, we present a complete theoretical and experimental description of the image artifacts from filtering. We then propose and validate a robust algorithm to completely restore the lost information for the x-space MPI method. We provide the theoretical, simulated, and experimental proof that our algorithm indeed restores the LSI properties of MPI.
Depth and Explanation in Mathematics

This paper argues that in at least some cases, one proof of a given theorem is deeper than another by virtue of supplying a deeper explanation of the theorem — that is, a deeper account of why the theorem holds. There are cases of scientific depth that also involve a common abstract structure explaining a similarity between two otherwise unrelated phenomena, making their similarity no coincidence and purchasing depth by answering why questions that separate, dissimilar explanations of the two phenomena cannot correctly answer. The connections between explanation, depth, unification, power, and coincidence in mathematics and science are compared.
Advanced Wound Care Therapies for Nonhealing Diabetic, Venous, and Arterial Ulcers: A Systematic Review

Nonhealing ulcers affect patient quality of life and impose a substantial financial burden on the health care system. This review examined the benefits and harms of advanced wound care therapies fo...
Pruritus and fatigue in primary biliary cirrhosis

Pruritus and fatigue are the most common symptoms of patients with PBC, and both have marked negative impact on quality of life. Over the past decade, evidence has emerged supporting a role of the central nervous system in the pathogenesis of these two common manifestations of PBC. There is no evidence that the pruritus of cholestasis is mediated in the skin. Clinical and laboratory data do support a role of the opioid neurotransmitter system in the mediation of the pruritus of cholestasis; a central mechanism has been proposed. Treatment with opiate antagonist is thus a specific alternative. Studies of the behavioral consequence of the pruritus of cholestasis, scratching activity, allow for the design of clinical trials with objective end-points. The etiology of fatigue is unknown. A central component is being considered. The identification of objective alterations in fatigue and the adoption of a definition that incorporates the perception and the behavioral consequences of fatigue should facilitate the development of objective methodology. The potential role of various neurotransmitter systems, including the serotonin system and the opioid system, in the mediation of the fatigue of PBC seems to merit further investigation.
The Influence of Curvature on Film Cooling Performance

The effects of injection rate and strength of curvature on film cooling performance of gas injected through a row of holes on a convex surface is studied. Comparisons are made to film cooling of concave and flat surfaces. Three different relative strengths of curvature (ratio of radius of curvature to radius of injection hole), two density ratios (0.95 and 2.0), and a wide range of blowing rates (0.3 to 2.7) are considered. A foreign gas injection technique (mass transfer analogy) is used. The strength of curvature was controlled by varying the injection hole diameter. At low blowing rates, film cooling is more effective on the convex surface than on a flat or a concave surface. The cross stream pressure gradient present in curved flows tends to push the jet into the convex wall. As the injection rate is increased, normal and tangential jet momentum promote lift-off from the convex surface, thereby lowering performance. In contrast, previous studies show that on a concave surface, tangential jet momentum, flow instabilities, and blockage improve performance on a concave surface as blowing rate is increased.Copyright © 1990 by ASME
The Accuracy of the Core Files for Studying Nonprofit Location How Many Nonprofits Are There

Studies show that the distribution of nonprofits varies considerably across communities. Affluent communities tend to have ample nonprofit resources and highly diverse nonprofit landscapes, whereas...
The insidious L-shaped distribution.

L-shaped distributions are not rare and are probably far more prevalent than is generally realized. They are highly conducive to nonrobustness of normality-assuming statistical tests, and they strongly resist transformation to normality. The thinner the tail of the distribution, the more unlikely it is that its L-shapedness will be detected by inspecting a sample drawn from it. Yet, as the tail of an L-shaped distribution becomes increasingly shallow, its skewness and kurtosis depart increasingly from their “normal-distribution” values, and the distribution becomes increasingly conducive to drastic nonrobustness. Worse, a fairly common type of experimental situation in psychological research produces shallow-tailed L-shaped distributions.
Reproductive and Hatchling Ecology of the Alabama Red-Bellied Cooter (Pseudemys alabamensis): Implications for Conservation and Management

Abstract We studied the reproductive, nesting, and hatchling ecology of the endangered Alabama red-bellied cooter (Pseudemys alabamensis) from 1997 to 2001 and in 2003 in the Mobile–Tensaw Delta, Alabama, USA. Nesting activity peaked in June and July and mean clutch size was 13 eggs (n = 31), with a strong positive correlation between clutch size and female carapace length. Females may lay multiple clutches in single- or multiple-chambered nests; adult and juvenile females dig false nests. Nonoverwintering hatchlings had a development period of 101 days (n = 21 nests); overwintered hatchlings emerged beginning in March of the next year. Mean hatchlings weight was 11.7 g with a carapace length of 39.1 mm (n = 262). We tested a headstart program on 6 hatchlings raised in captivity for 16 months and released as large, juvenile turtles; results suggest that the headstart program is a feasible approach to increase juvenile survivorship. We propose the following plan to prevent further population declines: 1) c...
The Health Education for Lupus Study: A Randomized Controlled Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention Targeting Psychosocial Adjustment and Quality of Life in Adolescent Females With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract Introduction To examine in a randomize controlled feasibility clinical trial the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral intervention designed to manage pain, enhance disease adjustment and adaptation and improve quality of life among female adolescents with systemic lupus erythematosus. Methods Female adolescents (n = 53) ranging in age from 12 to 18 years were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups including a cognitive-behavioral intervention, an education-only arm and a no-contact control group. Participants were assessed at baseline, postintervention and at 3- and 6-month intervals after completion of the intervention. Results No significant differences were revealed among the 3 treatment arms for any of the dependent measures at any of the assessment points. For the mediator variables, a posthoc secondary analysis did reveal increases in coping skills from baseline to postintervention among the participants in the cognitive-behavioral intervention group compared with both the no-contact control group and the education-only group. Conclusion Although no differences were detected in the primary outcome, a possible effect on coping of female adolescents with systemic lupus erythematosus was detected in this feasibility study. Whether the impact of training in the area of coping was of sufficient magnitude to generalize to other areas of functioning, such as adjustment and adaptation, is unclear. Future phase III randomized trials will be needed to assess additional coping models and to evaluate the dose of training and its influence on pain management, adjustment and health-related quality of life.
Adaptive Teaching for English Language Arts Following the Pathway of Classroom Data in Preservice Teacher Inquiry

Consensus exists that effective teaching includes capacity to adapt instruction to respond to student learning challenges as they arise. Adaptive teachers may keep pace with rapidly evolving youth ...
Large-basis calculations: Present results and future directions

Abstract The status of the conventional large-basis shell-model approach to nuclear structure is reviewed. I focus on particular examples where recent progress has been made and on those aspects that are not as yet well understood.
Income redistribution and the effects of five local taxes in a small region

The economy of a small region is modeled as an eighteen equation system describing production, consumption, income distribution, factor supply, and a government sector. The government uses five different taxes independently to collect tax revenue equal to 20% of what land rents would be in an untaxed equilibrium. The revenue from each tax is redistributed to local residents according to five different plans. The distribution of the tax revenue, as well as the type of tax, generates distinct patterns of impacts on regional population, capital stock and production structure, wages, rents and incidence of the tax.
Handwritten Kanji recognition with determinant normalized quadratic discriminant function

This paper describes two approaches to increasing the accuracy of character recognition. One possible approach is to improve quadratic discriminant analysis. If a sample covariance matrix is obtained by using a relatively small set of training data, estimation errors of its determinant differ from class to class. This is thought to lead a deterioration in performance. To cope with this problem, this paper outlines an approach based on normalization of the determinant of each class covariance matrix. Another approach is to use features which reflect differences in the shape of characters. The results of a benchmark test in which various feature transformation methods and discriminant functions were compared are reported. The rests confirmed that combination of normalizing quadratic discriminant function for the determinant and the use of the common difference principal components proposed by the author gives the best accuracy.
Estrogen receptor-beta sensitizes breast cancer cells to the anti-estrogenic actions of endoxifen

We have previously demonstrated that endoxifen is the most important tamoxifen metabolite responsible for eliciting the anti-estrogenic effects of this drug in breast cancer cells expressing estrogen receptor-alpha (ERα). However, the relevance of ERβ in mediating endoxifen action has yet to be explored. Here, we characterize the molecular actions of endoxifen in breast cancer cells expressing ERβ and examine its effectiveness as an anti-estrogenic agent in these cell lines. MCF7, Hs578T and U2OS cells were stably transfected with full-length ERβ. ERβ protein stability, dimer formation with ERα and expression of known ER target genes were characterized following endoxifen exposure. The ability of various endoxifen concentrations to block estrogen-induced proliferation of MCF7 parental and ERβ-expressing cells was determined. The global gene expression profiles of these two cell lines was monitored following estrogen and endoxifen exposure and biological pathway analysis of these data sets was conducted to identify altered cellular processes. Our data demonstrate that endoxifen stabilizes ERβ protein, unlike its targeted degradation of ERα, and induces ERα/ERβ heterodimerization in a concentration dependent manner. Endoxifen is also shown to be a more potent inhibitor of estrogen target genes when ERβ is expressed. Additionally, low concentrations of endoxifen observed in tamoxifen treated patients with deficient CYP2D6 activity (20 to 40 nM) markedly inhibit estrogen-induced cell proliferation rates in the presence of ERβ, whereas much higher endoxifen concentrations are needed when ERβ is absent. Microarray analyses reveal substantial differences in the global gene expression profiles induced by endoxifen at low concentrations (40 nM) when comparing MCF7 cells which express ERβ to those that do not. These profiles implicate pathways related to cell proliferation and apoptosis in mediating endoxifen effectiveness at these lower concentrations. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the presence of ERβ enhances the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to the anti-estrogenic effects of endoxifen likely through the molecular actions of ERα/β heterodimers. These findings underscore the need to further elucidate the role of ERβ in the biology and treatment of breast cancer and suggest that the importance of pharmacologic variation in endoxifen concentrations may differ according to ERβ expression.
Technology as a resource for reconstituting the social world: life in a war zone

We argue that the disruption associated with war can help develop a deeper theoretical and practical understanding of how Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) enable people to repair practices in the work, social, and education spaces. We focus on how people leverage various ICTs in order to reconstitute their social world, which will allow us to develop new technologies to aid those who experience similar situations.
Heterocyclic Polymers and Copolymers with Controlled Optoelectronic Properties

A series of aromatic polymers and copolymers have been investigated that contain a combination of 2,5-thienylene and 1,4-phenylene linkages. l,4-Bis-(2-thienyl)phenylene monomers have been prepared with a variety of substituents on the 2,5-phenylene positions. Subsequent oxidative polymerization of these monomers, both chemically and electrochemically, yield a family of polymers containing a thiophene-phenylene-thiophene repeat unit. Theoretical modeling, using both PRDDO and ab initio methods, has been used to correlate the thiophene-phenylene torsional angles with band gaps. In addition, polymer band structure has been investigated using the Extended Hiickel method.
Rat and mouse brain histamine N-methyltransferase: modulation by methylated indoleamines.

A purification procedure for rat and mouse brain histamine N-methyltransferase (HMT. EC 2.1.1.8) is described which achieves the preparation of 87-fold purified rat brain and 166-fold purified mouse brain enzyme. The purified HMT (MW 29.000) is inhibited by a number of physiologi- cally and pharmacologically active amines. among them several methylated indoleamines. at concen- trations above 5 x M. At concentrations below 1 x lo-' M. most of the methylated indoleamines stimulate HMT, provided histamine is maintained at, or close to, its optimal concentration as an HMT substrate, namely 1 x to-$ M. A study of the nature of the inhibitory process revealed a non-com- petitive inhibition of HMT by dopamine as against a competitive inhibition of the enzyme by most methylated indoleamines. Increasing the concentration of histamine beyond the optimal value, i.e. to inhibitory levels, resulted in less stimulation. The findings support the notion that MSO elicits the formation in selected brain cells of supranormal amounts of several methylated indoleamines which are able to stimulate HMT (and possibly other methyltransferases, see SALAS et al., 1977), thereby causing the depletion of the cerebral levels of S-adenosyl-L-methionine, reported previously (SCHATZ & SELLINGER, 1975b).
DDCache: Decoupled and Delegable Cache Data and Metadata

In order to harness the full compute power of many-core processors, future designs must focus on effective utilization of on-chip cache and bandwidth resources. In this paper, we address the dual goals of (1) reducing on-chip communication overheads and (2) improving on-chip cache space utilization resulting in larger effective cache capacity and thereby potentially reduced off-chip traffic. We present a new cache coherence protocol that decouples the logical binding between data and metadata in a cache set. This decoupling allows data and metadata for a cache line to be independently delegated to any location on chip. By delegating metadata to the current owner/modifier of a cache line, communication overhead for metadata maintenance is avoided and communication can be effectively localized between interacting processes. By decoupling metadata from data, data space in the cache can be more efficiently utilized by avoiding unnecessary data replication. Using full system simulation, we demonstrate that our decoupled protocol achieves an average (geometric mean) speedup of 1.24 (1.3 with microbenchmarks) compared to a base statically mapped directory-based non-uniform cache access protocol, while generating only 65% and 74% of the on-chip and off-chip traffic respectively, and consuming 74% of the corresponding energy (95% of the power) in the on-chip memory and interconnect compared to the base system.
Meta-Analysis: Effect of Long-Acting β-Agonists on Severe Asthma Exacerbations and Asthma-Related Deaths

Pooled results from 19 trials with 33 826 asthmatic participants found that long-acting β-agonists increased exacerbations requiring hospitalization and life-threatening exacerbations compared with...
Modified Sierpinski fractal antenna

A two layer stacked Sierpinski patch antenna design is presented which shows improved return loss and radiation properties. A modified stacked Sierpinski patch antenna obtained by merging the top grid layer with the fractal antenna is presented. This resulted in an additional resonance but has a very poor return loss. Truncating the corner of the Sierpinski structure helped to improve the return loss. A gap structure was analyzed next to obtain an increase in bandwidth. The gap is introduced along the non-radiating edge of the antenna. The effect of the gap is more noticeable at higher frequencies. This also produced patterns that were more omnidirectional. The proposed designs provide more parameters allowing one to control the resonances and the patterns. The work could be extended to third and forth order fractals.
SPRITE: Generalizing Topic Models with Structured Priors

We introduce SPRITE, a family of topic models that incorporates structure into model priors as a function of underlying components. The structured priors can be constrained to model topic hierarchies, factorizations, correlations, and supervision, allowing SPRITE to be tailored to particular settings. We demonstrate this flexibility by constructing a SPRITE-based model to jointly infer topic hierarchies and author perspective, which we apply to corpora of political debates and online reviews. We show that the model learns intuitive topics, outperforming several other topic models at predictive tasks.
Consequences of metabolic and oxidative modifications of cartilage tissue

A hallmark of chronic metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and oxidative stress, as occurs in chronic inflammatory and degenerative conditions, is the presence of extensive protein post-translational modifications, including glycation, glycoxidation, carbonylation and nitrosylation. These modifications have been detected on structural cartilage proteins in joints and intervertebral discs, where they are known to affect protein folding, induce protein aggregation and, ultimately, generate microanatomical changes in the proteoglycan-collagen network that surrounds chondrocytes. Many of these modifications have also been shown to promote oxidative cleavage as well as enzymatically-mediated matrix degradation. Overall, a general picture starts to emerge indicating that biochemical changes in proteins constitute an early event that compromises the anatomical organization and viscoelasticity of cartilage, thereby affecting its ability to sustain pressure and, ultimately, impeding its overall bio-performance.
Think again? The amount of mental simulation tracks uncertainty in the outcome

In this paper, we investigate how people use mental simulations: do people vary the number of simulations that they run in order to optimally balance speed and accuracy? We combined a model of noisy physical simulation with a decision making strategy called the sequential probability ratio test, or SPRT (Wald, 1947). Our model predicted that people should use more samples when it is harder to make an accurate prediction due to higher simulation uncertainty. We tested this through a task in which people had to judge whether a ball bouncing in a box would go through a hole or not. We varied the uncertainty across trials by changing the size of the holes and the margin by which the ball went through or missed the hole. Both people’s judgments and response times were well-predicted by our model, demonstrating that people have a systematic strategy to allocate resources for mental simulation.
A Raman study of TiO2-SiO2 glasses prepared by sol-gel processes

Etude de la coordination du titane par spectrometrie Raman dans les verres TiO 2 −SiO 2 prepares par le procede sol-gel, en particulier dans le domaine des fortes concentrations en TiO 2
Feasibility of CTLA4Ig gene delivery and expression in vivo using retrovirally transduced myeloid dendritic cells that induce alloantigen-specific T cell anergy in vitro.

Dendritic cells (DC) are highly specialised, bone marrow (BM)-derived antigen-presenting cells (APC) that initiate and regulate immune responses. They provide costimulatory signals (in particular, CD40 and the CD28 ligands CD80 and CD86) necessary for naive T cell activation. Functional expression of CD80 and CD86 is blocked by the fusion protein cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4-immunoglobulin (CTLA4Ig), that promotes tolerance induction in animals. Here, replicating mouse (B10; H2b) myeloid DC progenitors, were retrovirally transduced to express CTLA4Ig using the centrifugal enhancement method. Gene product was detected by immunocyto- or histochemistry. Maximal DC transduction efficiency was 62%. Compared with control, zeomycin-resistance gene (Zeo)-transduced DC, CTLA4Ig-expressing cells showed markedly impaired capacity to stimulate naive allogeneic (C3H; H2k) T cell proliferation and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) generation. Their ability to induce alloantigen-specific T cell hyporesponsiveness was reversed by exogenous IL-2 in secondary mixed leukocyte reactions (MLR). Following local (s.c.) transfer to allogeneic recipients, the genetically modified DC trafficked to T cell areas of draining lymphoid tissue, where transgene expression was detected. Ex vivo analysis of proliferative and CTL responses revealed donor-specific inhibition of alloimmune reactivity by the CTLA4Ig-transduced DC. This effect was associated with marked inhibition of interferon (IFN)-γ production, but significant augmentation of IL-4 and IL-10 secretion. Thus, retroviral transduction of DC permits in vivo delivery of CTLA4Ig to the precise microenvironment where antigen (Ag) presentation occurs. Comparatively nonimmunogenic retroviral vectors, that allow permanent transgene expression in DC, and promote localized delivery of the immunosuppressive transgene product, promote immune deviation and Ag-specific T cell hyporesponsiveness.
In-Situ GISAXS Investigation of Pore Orientation Effects on the Thermal Transformation Mechanism in Mesoporous Titania Thin Films

This study addresses the effects of mesopore orientation on mesostructural stability and crystallization of titania thin films during calcination based on measurements with in-situ grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). Complementary supporting information is provided by ex-situ electron microscopy. Pluronic surfactant P123 (with average structure (EO)20(PO)70(EO)20 where EO is an ethylene oxide unit and PO is a propylene oxide unit) serves as the template to synthesize titania thin films on P123-modified glass slides with 2D hexagonally close-packed cylindrical mesopores. The orientation of the pores at the top surface is controlled by sandwiching another P123-modified glass slide on top of the titania thin film to completely orient the pores orthogonal to the films in some samples. This provides the opportunity to directly observe how pore orientation affects the evolution of pore order and crystallinity during calcination. The results show that when the pores are oriented parallel to ...
Wood bioenergy and soil productivity research

Timber harvesting can cause both short- and long-term changes in forest ecosystem functions, and scientists from USDA Forest Service (USDA FS) have been studying these processes for many years. Biomass and bioenergy markets alter the amount, type, and frequency at which material is harvested, which in turn has similar yet specific impacts on sustainable productivity. The nature of some biomass energy operations provides opportunities to ameliorate or amend forest soils to sustain or improve their productive capacity, and USDA FS scientists are leading the research into these applications. Research efforts to sustain productive soils need to be verified at regional, national, and international scope, and USDA FS scientists work to advance methods for soil quality monitoring and to inform international criteria and indicators. Current and future USDA FS research ranges from detailed soil process studies to regionally important applied research and to broad scale indicator monitoring and trend analysis, all of which will enable the USA to lead in the sustainable production of woody biomass for bioenergy.
MICROSTRUCTURE OF NEARBY LIQUIDUS SEMI-CONTINUOUS CASTING ALUMINUM ALLOY A356

The microstructure of aluminum alloy A356 with fine equiaxed nondendritic grains was obtained by means of nearby liquidus semi-continuous casting method, which is needed by semisolid metal process. The influences of casting temperature, heat preservation time and cooling rate on nearby liquidus casting microstructure are investigated. The results show that in the nearby of liquidus, the grains size becomes tiny with reducing of casting temperature, the least average equal- area circle grain diameter is 42.6 um, and the original solid fraction may reach 98.4%. Prolonging the heat preservation time makes grain size coarse at the same temperature, and increasing the cooling rate makes grain size fine. The microstructure of ingot cast in the Fe-mould is finer than that in the graphite-mould. The grains size of ingot middle is coarser, more even and equiaxed than that at the edge of ingot in the same ingot cast.
Relative sensitivities of DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic parameters to arterial input function (AIF) scaling

Dynamic-Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) has been used widely for clinical applications. Pharmacokinetic modeling of DCE-MRI data that extracts quantitative contrast reagent/tissue-specific model parameters is the most investigated method. One of the primary challenges in pharmacokinetic analysis of DCE-MRI data is accurate and reliable measurement of the arterial input function (AIF), which is the driving force behind all pharmacokinetics. Because of effects such as inflow and partial volume averaging, AIF measured from individual arteries sometimes require amplitude scaling for better representation of the blood contrast reagent (CR) concentration time-courses. Empirical approaches like blinded AIF estimation or reference tissue AIF derivation can be useful and practical, especially when there is no clearly visible blood vessel within the imaging field-of-view (FOV). Similarly, these approaches generally also require magnitude scaling of the derived AIF time-courses. Since the AIF varies among individuals even with the same CR injection protocol and the perfect scaling factor for reconstructing the ground truth AIF often remains unknown, variations in estimated pharmacokinetic parameters due to varying AIF scaling factors are of special interest. In this work, using simulated and real prostate cancer DCE-MRI data, we examined parameter variations associated with AIF scaling. Our results show that, for both the fast-exchange-limit (FXL) Tofts model and the water exchange sensitized fast-exchange-regime (FXR) model, the commonly fitted CR transfer constant (K(trans)) and the extravascular, extracellular volume fraction (ve) scale nearly proportionally with the AIF, whereas the FXR-specific unidirectional cellular water efflux rate constant, kio, and the CR intravasation rate constant, kep, are both AIF scaling insensitive. This indicates that, for DCE-MRI of prostate cancer and possibly other cancers, kio and kep may be more suitable imaging biomarkers for cross-platform, multicenter applications. Data from our limited study cohort show that kio correlates with Gleason scores, suggesting that it may be a useful biomarker for prostate cancer disease progression monitoring.
Subsurface-flow constructed wetlands treatment in the plains: five years of experience.

This paper documents the performance of a subsurface-flow constructed wetlands system during its initial five years of operation under variable loading and operating conditions associated with a northern midwestern US climate. The results indicate that effective and sufficient CW seasonal removals of TSS, VSS, CBOD 5 , COD, and fecal coliform were achieved. Wastewater temperatures seemed to affect CBOD 5 and COD removal rates. Nitrogen and phosphorus reductions were not as effective and varied seasonally, as well as with wastewater temperature. The addition of a sand filter, to aid in further nitrification and disinfection following CW treatment, markedly improved the performance of the wetlands system. After a few years of operation, the remarkable performance of the CW system was dampened by apparent clogging and subsequent eruption of wastewater at the head-end of the treatment cells. While clogging was partially caused by biomass build-up in the wetlands substrate, visual observations suggest that excessive vegetation coupled with relaxed maintenance may also be responsible for clogging.
Pharmacokinetic drug evaluation of selexipag for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension

Management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remains challenging even in the contemporary era. Intravenous prostacyclin therapy, while associated with decreased mortality, has practical limitations and requires significant lifestyle modifications. The recently approved long-acting oral IP prostacyclin receptor agonist for treatment of PAH, selexipag, is a non-prostanoid agent that vasodilates, impacts remodeling (anti-proliferative), reduces endothelial cell dysfunction, inhibits platelet aggregation (anti-thrombotic), and increases right heart inotropy. Areas covered: This review discusses the limitations of non-oral prostacyclin therapy for PAH and describes the factors which led to successful development of selexipag in in vitro and preclinical studies. We review the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of selexipag. We further discuss the methodology and results of phase II and III trials, which led to approval of selexipag for PAH management. Expert opinion: As compared to previously developed oral prostacyclins, selexipag has limited adverse effects despite similar or better efficacy. Its final place in the treatment paradigm is not yet clear but it does represent a significant advance in the area of oral PAH therapy.
Measurement of Effector Protein Translocation Using Phosphorylatable Epitope Tags and Phospho-Specific Antibodies

Numerous bacterial pathogens employ specialized protein secretion machineries to directly inject anti-host proteins, termed effector proteins, into eukaryotic cells. Effector proteins carrying small phosphorylatable tags can be used to detect and quantify effector protein injection. Here, we describe the use of the ELK- and GSK-tags to detect the translocation of the Y. pestis YopE effector protein into RAW 264.7 macrophage-like cells using immunoblot analysis with phospho-specific antibodies.
Osteoporosis prevention and osteoporosis exercise in community-based public health programs

Osteoporosis is a serious public health concern worldwide, and community-based public health programs that increase osteoporosis preventive behaviors are ideal to combat this major public health issue. A review of community-based public health programs for osteoporosis prevention show that programs vary in numerous ways and have mixed results in increasing osteoporosis preventive behaviors, although most programs have had success in significantly increasing calcium intake, only a few programs have had success in significantly increasing weight-bearing exercise. Regarding calcium intake, all community-based public health programs that implemented: 1) at least one theoretical behavior change model, such as the health belief model, or 2) bone mineral density (BMD) testing for osteoporosis screening, have shown success in significantly increasing calcium intake. As community-based public health programs for osteoporosis prevention have shown limited success in increasing weight-bearing exercise, an additional review of community-based public health programs incorporating osteoporosis exercise showed that they have high compliance rates to increase weight-bearing exercise, but require high-intensity weight-bearing exercise of 80–85% 1-repetition maximum to significantly increase BMD to prevent osteoporosis. In the prevention of osteoporosis, for community-based public health programs to be most effective, they should implement theoretical behavior change models and/or BMD testing for osteoporosis screening, along with high-intensity resistance training. Recommendations for future research to further study effective community-based public health programs are also provided.
Perioperative bed capacity planning guided by theory of constraints

In most hospitals, space planning and bed capacity decisions for the various stages of the perioperative system (preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative capacity) are made by specialized architect firms, using data supplied by hospital finance department personnel. The planners make decisions using simple rules of thumb and base their decisions on average flow-times. Facing a similar situation, and under time pressure, we showed the superiority of a simple discrete-event simulation model: one that accounted for variability in flow-times, as opposed to traditional decision-making that is based on average times. The simulation model's logic was guided by the Theory of Constraints, which enabled focusing on the key issue - how many pre- and post-op beds are needed if all the Operating Rooms work at full capacity. Under some assumptions, our simulation output showed that there was already sufficient pre-op and post-op bed capacity, thus preventing the hospital from undertaking expensive capacity expansion.
Comparison of Patient Health History Questionnaires Used in General Internal and Family Medicine, Integrative Medicine, and Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinics.

Abstract Objectives: Health history questionnaires (HHQs) are a set of self-administered questions completed by patients prior to a clinical encounter. Despite widespread use, minimal research has evaluated the content of HHQs used in general internal medicine and family medicine (GIM/FM), integrative medicine, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM; chiropractic, naturopathic, and Traditional Chinese Medicine [TCM]) clinics. Integrative medicine and CAM claim greater emphasis on well-being than does GIM/FM. This study investigated whether integrative medicine and CAM clinics' HHQs include more well-being content and otherwise differ from GIM/FM HHQs. Methods: HHQs were obtained from GIM/FM (n = 9), integrative medicine (n = 11), naturopathic medicine (n = 5), chiropractic (n = 4), and TCM (n = 7) clinics in California. HHQs were coded for presence of medical history (chief complaint, past medical history, social history, family history, surgeries, hospitalizations, medications, allergies, review...
Different Types of Transducers

A transducer basically converts energy from one form to another, usually from many different forms such as energy, force, torque, light, motion, and position to electrical signals and is shown in Fig. 3.1. Active transducer such as a thermocouple converts temperature to voltage and do not require any external energy. However, a passive transducer is based on change in some passive electrical quantity, such as capacitance, resistance, or inductance, and requires external energy source.
ORGANIC LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION – SERBIAN UNUSED CHANCE

The affirmation of organic production represents a man's return to nature and more significant appreciation of its legality. The demand for the products of organic production is increasing. Serbia has extraordinary terms for significantly higher organic production, as plant, as well as livestock. It also has modern legislation which regulates this kind of production. Besides, it supports foundation of this form of production, by stimulating assets from the government budget. However, this form of production is only in the beginning. In the paper was pointed out to: courses of organic livestock production in the world and in Europe (EU), condition of this production, institutional and natural terms in Serbia for the same production, as well as on basic references for its improvement.
Expanding capacity and promoting inclusion in introductory computer science: a focus on near-peer mentor preparation and code review

AbstractA dilemma within computer science departments is developing sustainable ways to expand capacity within introductory computer science courses while remaining committed to inclusive practices. Training near-peer mentors for peer code review is one solution. This paper describes the preparation of near-peer mentors for their role, with a focus on regular, consistent feedback via peer code review and inclusive pedagogy. Introductory computer science students provided consistently high ratings of the peer mentors’ knowledge, approachability, and flexibility, and credited peer mentor meetings for their strengthened self-efficacy and understanding. Peer mentors noted the value of videotaped simulations with reflection, discussions of inclusion, and the cohort’s weekly practicum for improving practice. Adaptations of peer mentoring for different types of institutions are discussed. Computer science educators, with hopes of improving the recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups, can benefit fro...
Civil-Military Relations in Bolivia (2000-2006)

In the post-dictatorship period, civil-military relations in Latin American countries have evolved. In some countries less than others. While in the Southern Cone, the armed forces diminished their presence in government bureaucracies, in Bolivia the military gained political strength. Although Bolivia has transitioned from a highly politicized military to one subordinate to the civilian leadership, the country does not yet have healthy civil-military relations. The purpose of this paper is to begin inquiring about the problems civil-military relations face in Bolivia. The specific question is whether these problems are derived from the country’s political system or from the military institution, itself. This study focuses on the period of 2000 through 2006.
A Contrapuntal Analysis of Cultural Discourses between Parent and GLBTQ Child

This article presents a contrapuntal analysis of cultural discourses manifested in language used by parents and their gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (GLBTQ) identified children. ...