cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alzheimer Disease and Cancer: A National Inpatient Sample Analysis.

Introduction Studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between Alzheimer dementia (AD) and cancer. This inverse relationship was further explored. In addition, Pin1 expression has been implicated in the cell cycle regulation of both disease processes. The relationship of Pin1 expression in 10 cancer types and secondary diagnosis of AD was examined. Materials and methods A cross-sectional analysis was performed using discharge data from the National Inpatient Sample from 1999 to 2008. Cancer was defined as the primary discharge diagnosis and AD was defined as the secondary discharge diagnosis. Cancer types were grouped according to their Pin1 expression to examine its relationship with AD. Analysis was performed by logistic regression. Results Of ∼3 million cancer discharge diagnoses, 1.0% had a secondary diagnosis of AD. Discharge data of all 10 cancer types revealed a lower likelihood of secondary AD diagnosis. Prostate [crude odds ratios (OR): 0.26 (0.24 to 0.29), multivariate OR: 0.39 (0.35 to 0.43)], ovarian [crude OR: 0.38 (0.32 to 0.44), multivariate OR: 0.35 (0.30 to 0.41)], and lung cancer [crude OR: 0.39 (0.36 to 0.41), multivariate OR: 0.41 (0.39 to 0.44)] demonstrated the lowest odds of secondary AD diagnosis. When cancer types were grouped per Pin1 expression, cancer types with Pin1 underexpression were more likely to be associated with secondary diagnosis of AD than cancer types with Pin1 overexpression [crude OR: 1.4 (1.3 to 1.4), multivariate OR: 1.08 (1.02 to 1.14)]. Discussion This secondary data analysis further demonstrated an inverse relationship between AD and 10 cancer types, with prostate, ovarian, and lung cancers displaying the greatest inverse relationship. Pin1 underexpressing cancer types had a significantly higher likelihood of secondary diagnosis of AD than Pin1 overexpressing cancer types.
In vivo ecotoxicology models

Abstract Common approaches used to study the ecotoxicity of chemicals include the evaluation of biomarkers, toxicity tests with single species, microcosm and mesocosm studies, and field studies. Of these, single-species toxicity tests continue to be the primary source of environmental risk assessment data to support legislation aimed at regulating chemicals and release of wastes into the environment. The goal of this chapter is to provide a general overview of these methods as they relate to regulatory ecotoxicology, including concerns associated with their application and the growing interest in moving away from vertebrate test species.
Mitochondrial DNA Variation in the Eastern Pondmussel, Ligumia nasuta (Bivalvia: Unionoida), in the Great Lakes Region

Most freshwater mussel species in the Great Lakes colonized the region from the Mississippi River basin and few appear to have colonized from Atlantic coast rivers. The Eastern Pondmussel, Ligumia nasuta, is widespread along the Atlantic coast but occurs elsewhere only in the Great Lakes, suggesting that it is one of the few Great Lakes species of Atlantic origin. Great Lakes populations are now imperiled following invasion of the lakes by dreissenid mussels. We examined patterns of diversity in the mitochondrial CO1 and ND1 genes in L. nasuta populations in the Great Lakes and in Atlantic coast rivers. Genetic diversity was low in Great Lakes populations and included only one CO1 and two ND1 haplotypes, all of which were also found in Atlantic coast populations. Genetic diversity was higher in Atlantic coast populations and included four CO1 and six ND1 haplotypes. Pairwise ФST revealed significant genetic differentiation for both genes between Atlantic coast and Great Lakes populations but not within Great Lakes populations. These results suggest that all populations of L. nasuta in the Great Lakes are derived from a single, small founder group that colonized from an Atlantic coast river. As such, Great Lakes populations may be considered a single management unit and conservation efforts based on propagation or translocation should be limited to use of Great Lakes source stock to prevent introduction of non-native haplotypes.
On Ensembles, I-Optimality, and Active Learning

We consider the active learning problem for a supervised learning model: That is, after training a black box model on a given dataset, we determine which (large batch of) unlabeled candidates to label in order to improve the model further. We concentrate on the large batch case, because this is most aligned with most machine learning applications, and because it is more theoretically rich. Our approach blends three ideas: (1) We quantify model uncertainty with jackknife-like 50-per cent sub-samples (“half-samples”). (2) To select which n of C candidates to label, we consider (a rank- $$(M-1)$$ estimate of) the associated $$C\times C$$ prediction covariance matrix, which has good properties. (3) Our algorithm works only indirectly with this covariance matrix, using a linear-in-C object. We illustrate by fitting a deep neural network to about 20 percent of the CIFAR-10 image dataset. The statistical efficiency we achieve is $$3\times$$ random selection.
Chronic Ablation of TRPV1 Sensitive Skeletal Muscle Afferents Attenuates the Muscle Metaboreflex

Exercise intolerance is a hallmark symptom of cardiovascular disease and likely occurs via enhanced activation of muscle metaboreflex-induced vasoconstriction of the heart and active skeletal muscl...
Bidirectional Class E 2 Resonant Converter in Wireless Power Transfer Systems

This paper presents a high-frequency wireless power transfer (WPT) using the bidirectional class E2 converter for battery-powered applications. As demand for unceasing and reliable electricity increases, battery-powered vehicles are able to serve as a distributed energy source, which requires a bidirectional operation. The capability of bidirectional operation in the vehicles is critical to managing the power flow in the electric grid system. In addition, wireless power transfer (WPT) technique is beneficial to provide galvanic isolation and reliability for the hostile environment. To increase the power density of the WPT system, high-frequency resonant converters such as a class E inverter and rectifier are advantageous to improve system efficiency. However, in the traditional class E inverter topology with an input choke, it is challenging to maintain high efficiency over the wide range of load variations. Also, the inverter and rectifier have to be symmetric for bidirectional operation and require accurate gate signals at MHZ. In this paper, we propose the high-frequency class E inverter using finite DC feed inductance and the self-synchronized class E rectifier design for the bidirectional WPT operation. The finite inductance class E topology maintains the ZVS condition in the various load variance condition. Also, the self-synchronized class E rectifier with the FET helps us obtain the identical structure to the inverter without any additional design and components. In the experiments, the two bidirectional class E modules were linked to transfer power as the forward and reverse direction operating at 13.56 MHz. At an input power of 225 W and an output resistance of 25 $\Omega$, the total power conversion efficiency of the DC-to-DC WPT system is 82.65%.
A local bag-of-features model for large-scale object retrieval

The so-called bag-of-features (BoF) representation for images is by now well-established in the context of large scale image and video retrieval. The BoF framework typically ranks database image according to a metric on the global histograms of the query and database images, respectively. Ranking based on global histograms has the advantage of being scalable with respect to the number of database images, but at the cost of reduced retrieval precision when the object of interest is small. Additionally, computationally intensive post-processing (such as RANSAC) is typically required to locate the object of interest in the retrieved images. To address these shortcomings, we propose a generalization of the global BoF framework to support scalable local matching. Specifically, we propose an efficient and accurate algorithm to accomplish local histogram matching and object localization simultaneously. The generalization is to represent each database image as a family of histograms that depend functionally on a bounding rectangle. Integral with the image retrieval process, we identify bounding rectangles whose histograms optimize query relevance, and rank the images accordingly. Through this localization scheme, we impose a weak spatial consistency constraint with low computational overhead. We validate our approach on two public image retrieval benchmarks: the University of Kentucky data set and the Oxford Building data set. Experiments show that our approach significantly improves on BoF-based retrieval, without requiring computationally expensive post-processing.
Development and Implementation of a Performance-Monitoring System for Early Childhood Education

This paper describes the conceptualization, development, and implementation procedures for a performance-monitoring system designed to evaluate the progress of young children, with and without disabilities, in an inclusive early childhood education program. A total of 20 early childhood educators from one preschool participated in a 10-month, professional development program designed to advance their knowledge and understanding of performance assessment, and to enable them to develop their own performance-monitoring system entitled “Changing, Learning, and Growing” (CLG). This paper provides an overview and rationale for performance monitoring, and explains the five-step process through which participating teachers were guided in their development of CLG.
Chemically Induced Mutations in Mitochondrial DNA of Human Cells: Mutational Spectrum of N-Methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine

Abstract We have observed a reproducible mitochondrial mutational spectrum in the MT1 human lymphoblastoid line treated with N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). The MNNG spectrum was distinct from the spontaneous mutational spectrum. However, our ability to observe MNNG-induced mitochondrial mutations above the high level of accumulated spontaneous mutations was dependent on the MT1 phenotype. MT1 cells are markedly resistant to the cytotoxicity but not the mutagenicity of MNNG, presumably as a result of inactivation of both copies of the hMSH6 (GTBP) mismatch repair gene. Thus, we were able to use conditions of treatment that yielded induced mitochondrial mutant fractions beyond the practical limits for human cell experiments in mismatch-proficient human cell lines. In contradistinction, when MT1 cells were treated repeatedly with maximum tolerated concentrations of (±) anti-benzo(a)pyrene diol-epoxide, no induced mitochondrial mutations above the spontaneous background were observed. A single dose of 4 µm MNNG (survival, 0.85) induced a mutant fraction of 8 × 10-3 in the nuclear hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase gene, and a clear and reproducible pattern of seven MNNG-induced hotspot mutations was observed within the mitochondrial DNA target sequence studied (mitochondrial bp 10,030–10,130). All of the MNNG-induced hotspot mutations were G:C to A:T transitions present at frequencies between 6 × 10-5 and 30 × 10-5. Additional experiments supported the conclusion that MNNG-induced hotspot mutations observed were generated in living cells as a result of MNNG treatment and not from mismatch intermediates or DNA adducts converted into mutations during the PCR process.
Relationship between drop vertical jump heights and isokinetic measures utilizing the stretch-shortening cycle

The purpose of this study was to determine how isokinetic eccentric and concentric peak torque/body weight ratios and time to peak torque values relate to drop vertical jump heights in 30 healthy subjects (12 men and 18 women, age = 22.7±2.2 yr, ht =169.6±8.0 cm, wt =67.2f11.9 kg). Drop vertical jumps were performed from a box 50 cm high. Subjects were tested isokinetically on each leg for the motions of knee extension and ankle plantar flexion. Eccentric and concentric peak torque (PT)/body weight ratios along with time (s) to eccentric and concentric peak torque were extracted from the Kin Com II computer. A stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between the eight predictor variables and drop vertical jump height. Knee extension concentric PT/body weight ratio was the most significant predictor of drop vertical jump height, accounting for 23% of-the variance. This finding suggests that the stretch-shortening cycle can be simulated using isokinetic strength measurements and that drop vertical jump height can be attributed in part to concentric knee extension strength.
Properties of HF RADAR Compact Antenna Arrays and Their Effect on the MUSIC Algorithm

Detailed analysis of the compact antenna array patterns and the internal signal processing within the MUSIC algorithm leads to a goodness-of-fit quality metric for the output radial current velocities and bearings produced by the HF RADAR system. To achieve this, some theory behind the MUSIC direction finding algorithm, describing its Direction of Arrival (DO A) metric, is first presented. MATLAB simulations are conducted and statistics are collected on the DOA metrics. The magnitudes of these metrics are directly related to the quality of the bearings produced by the MUSIC algorithm. Quality of measured antenna patterns is paramount to the accuracy of the MUSIC algorithm bearing output. Ambiguities, as well as other aspects of the measured antenna patterns that are detrimental to quality, are discussed. This research provides HF RADAR users with a practical quality metric for the radial current velocities and their associated bearings produced by the HF RADAR system.
Expression of NR2B in Cerebellar Granule Cells Specifically Facilitates Effect of Motor Training on Motor Learning

It is believed that gene/environment interaction (GEI) plays a pivotal role in the development of motor skills, which are acquired via practicing or motor training. However, the underlying molecular/neuronal mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we reported that the expression of NR2B, a subunit of NMDA receptors, in cerebellar granule cells specifically enhanced the effect of voluntary motor training on motor learning in the mouse. Moreover, this effect was characterized as motor learning-specific and developmental stage-dependent, because neither emotional/spatial memory was affected nor was the enhanced motor learning observed when the motor training was conducted starting at the age of 3 months old in these transgenic mice. These results indicate that changes in the expression of gene(s) that are involved in regulating synaptic plasticity in cerebellar granule cells may constitute a molecular basis for the cerebellum to be involved in the GEI by facilitating motor skill learning.
Spectral Distribution of Radiation in the Northern Great Lakes During Winter

Abstract Measurements of global radiation in the spectral bands 285-2800, 535-2800, 630-2800 and 700-2800 nm were collected at the eastern end of Lake Superior during the period January through May. Significant differences are reported between the various spectral bands on a monthly as well as on a daily and hourly basis, due to varying degrees and types of cloudiness. Values of net and downward radiation for the same period are also provided.
Slurry dairy manure as corn nutrient source

Abstract Application of slurry dairy manure were made on five different farms in the Piedmonts region of North Carolina for three consecutive springs and two falls. The manure supplied sufficient nutrients to produce corn (Zea mays L.) silage yields comparable with commercial fertilizer applications at soil test recommendations. The calculated availability of manurial N varied between farms. Yield was usually not significantly different for fall and spring applications of manure, but sometimes the spring manure application resulted in greater yield. The use of a nitrification inhibitor in fall-applied dairy slurry did not give significant yield differences when compared with similar fall treatments that did not receive this material. For maximum manure utilization efficiency application rates should be below 224kg N ha −1 (80 m 3 manure ha −1 ). The slurry manure nutrient concentrations were found to vary considerably between farms and from season to season at a given farm, indicating the desirability of seasonal manurial analysis. Some test sites, due to previou manure and/or fertilizer applications, were found to be unresponsive to either manure or fertilizer applications. Nitrogen availability (NA) was found to vary with site; however, spring manure applications appear to give higher NA values.
Assessing the impact of biomarkers on patient outcome: An obligatory step

Payers for healthcare increasingly require evidence about health outcomes of medical interventions. Outcomes research uses various study designs to provide such evidence, with the highest level of evidence provided by randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Among published studies of biomarkers, however, relatively few determine the relationship of biomarker testing to outcomes, and only a small fraction of those studies are RCTs, and fewer still follow the CONSORT standards for reporting of trials. Outcomes studies of biomarkers are difficult to carry out. During an outcomes study, clinicians may be expected to use the results of the test (e.g., troponin) along with other information (e.g., symptoms of an acute coronary syndrome) to decide about use of another intervention (such as cardiac catheterization) that is hoped to improve an outcome (e.g., mortality rate) at some time in the future. Studies of diagnostic tests frequently lack evidence that test results were acted upon at all, much less according to a defined protocol. The potential for a biomarker to improve outcomes depends upon a wide range of variables. These variables include the diagnostic accuracy of the test and the effectiveness of the therapeutic intervention, both of which will, predictably, vary with the patient population studied. Thus outcomes studies performed in one patient population leave unanswered questions regarding outcomes in other populations. The questions are infinite, but resources are finite. Simulation modelling studies are attractive as an adjunct to patient studies to address multiple patient variables and multiple treatment approaches without the expense of multiple clinical studies.
Icebergs and the Sea Floor of the East Greenland (Kangerlussuaq) Continental Margin

The Kangerlussuaq margin is well furrowed by icebergs. The margin favors furrow preservation since sedimentation on the continental shelf is low, at least since the last (Flakkerhuk) glaciation and because shelf depths are well below wave base. While furrows are common in the Kangerlussuaq region, the icebergs that created the larger furrows are mostly absent. "Fresh" iceberg furrows are observed only on the bathymetric highs surrounding the 750-m-deep Kangerlussuaq Trough. Bathymetric barriers around the trough prevent icebergs with deep keels from entering the trough. Enormous and weathered (older) furrows are located inside the protected trough, apparently formed at paleocalving ice sheet termini, when the Greenland Ice Sheet extended onto the shelf. In the deeper sections of Kangerlussuaq Trough, Holocene mud is presently burying these older iceberg furrows. Paleocalving ice sheet margins, possibly from Iceland, account for muted furrows found on the upper continental slope of East Greenland. No sediment has been deposited over these hardground sites since 14,750 ? 720 BP.
On the impact of coding parameters on storage requirement of region-based fault tolerant distributed file system design

Advances in technology have resulted in Internet-scale deployment of storage systems such as peer-to-peer storage and cloud storage, where data is distributed over multiple storage nodes in a networked environment. In these environments the storage nodes are often commodity machines and are susceptible to failure. The notion of fault domain, introduced by Microsoft Azure, captures the fault-tolerance aspects of a data center. A fault domain is defined as a set of servers all of which become inaccessible when a single fault (such as the failure of a switch or a router) occurs in the data center. As such a fault domain can be viewed as a spatially correlated or region based failure. In order to enhance reliability through redundancy, maximum distance separable (MDS) codes such as Reed-Solomon codes and (N, K) codings are utilized. In this paper we present analytical results demonstrating that the choice of the coding parameters N and K may have significant impact on storage that will be necessary to achieve reliability. We present a polynomial time algorithm for optimal storage allocation in a mesh network and we conduct extensive experimentation to evaluate the impact of the coding parameters N and K on the storage requirement to provide all region fault tolerance with varying size of the mesh and the fault region.
A streaming FPGA implementation of a steerable filter for real-time applications (abstract only)

Oriented filters are used in many early vision and image processing tasks for feature extraction at arbitrary orientations. Steerable filters are a class of filters in which a filter of arbitrary orientation is synthesized as a linear combination of a set of basis filters. In this work, we describe a streaming implementation of a steerable filter on FPGAs, which includes a two-dimensional convolution filter and a modulator for modulation by a set of oriented sine waves. We present a highly configurable streaming 2D convolution implementation and a novel separable look-up-table based implementation of the modulation step. This steerable filter has been extended to multiple resolutions to realize a steerable pyramid filter. Experimental results on a Virtex6 FPGA show that the steerable pyramid filter provides up to 14X and 21X speedups over related FPGA and CPU implementations respectively. This work was supported in part by a grant from NSF 0916887 and DARPA Neovision2 programs.
Antibiotic resistance of microorganisms isolated from root canals.

Abstract 1. 1. The problems associated with antibiotics have been described. 2. 2. In the present study 381 positive cultures from root canals were processed for identification and for antibiotic-susceptibility patterns of the involved microorganisms. 3. 3. Tables are presented to show the microorganisms isolated and their resistance patterns. 4. 4. The findings are discussed in the light of clinical practice and adaptability to office routine. 5. 5. A plea is made for the rational, controlled use of antibiotics rather than indiscriminate abuse of these agents.
Buckling of open cylindrical shells under combined compression and bending stress

In this paper, a procedure is developed to overcome the mathematical difficulty in solving the Donnell equations for a curved panel subject to circumferential variation of axial stress. The present paper deals with the small deflection theory where the axial deformation is predominant. The problem of a simply supported open shell subjected to linear variation of axial stress across the cross section, which can be expressed in terms of an infinite series along the circumferential coordinate, is solved in detail. The expressions for the displacements are given in terms of arbitrary undetermined constants, which can be made to satisfy prescribed longitudinal edge conditions. The solutions for displacement in this paper are given as a sum of two parts, the first part representing the contribution due to a constant axial stress and the second part representing the contribution due to the deviation function.
The Determinants of Computer Based Information System Performance

Computer based information system performance can be conceptualized as being a function of computer hardware and software, behavioral, structural, and environmental variables. To explore this conce...
Experiment and Numerical Study on Shear Capacity of RC Beams

Based on cyclic loading experiment of six beams in the two groups, the relationship among the stirrup stress, initial diagonal crack width and shear capacity of RC beams was studied. Experimental result shows that the decline of the shear strength of the RC beams due to cyclic loading can be characterized by the width of diagonal crack, according to the experimental phenomena, a formula for shear capacity after cyclic loading is derived for engineering use. To study the mechanism of the capacity decline, considering the effect of the width of diagonal crack to the shear transfer coefficient, numerical analysis by FEM method was done, the result is compared to the experimental result.
Divergent news representations of Lien Chan’s visit to China: A corpus-based lexical comparison between the China Post and the China Daily

By combining the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach with the corpus linguistic method, this study compares the lexical choices employed by two English newspapers, i.e. the China Daily (CD) and the China Post (CP), in their coverage of Taiwan’s KMT (Kuomintang) Chairman Lien Chan’s visit to China in April 2005. The comparative analysis of the two corpora of news reports is conducted at three levels: word frequencies, part-of-speech (POS) frequencies and semantic category frequencies. The paper argues that the differences in the news representation of Lien’s visit are attributed to the different socio-political functions performed by these two newspapers: while the CD depicts the event as a momentous one that has received nation-wide plaudits in order to echo faithfully China’s policy of peaceful reunification, the CP presents a more comprehensive picture of the event in that it also reports in detail some incidents, including violent protests, triggered by Lien’s visit that has great impact on the domestic social life of Taiwan.
Treatment of toxic epidermal necrolysis with intravenous immunoglobulin in children

Abstract Background: Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is an acute illness characterized by rapid onset of skin necrosis and high mortality. Standard treatment is primarily aimed at supportive care in a burn unit setting. Objective: We evaluated the outcome of 8 pediatric patients treated for TEN with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) over a 3-year period. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of pediatric patients with a diagnosis of TEN between 1999 and 2001, obtained from a computerized database. Results: Mean body surface involvement of 8 patients treated with IVIg was 67%. The average length of hospitalization was 13.6 days, with an average delay in treatment of 3.2 days. The average time to arrest in progression of lesions was 2.1 days and to complete re-epithelialization, 8.1 days. The mortality rate was 0%. The majority of complications were infectious. Conclusion: IVIg is a safe and effective treatment for TEN in the pediatric population. Randomized trials are needed to further evaluate the efficacy of IVIg compared with other modalities. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2002;47:548-52.)
Stratification Enhancement in Liquid Thermal Storage Tanks

Abstract P gains may be realized in solar energy systems using sensible heat storage in water if thermal stratification can be promoted in the storage tank . J The degree to which stratification can be achieved and maintained in a well-insulated tank designed for a diurnal cycle will depend most strongly on the way in which the hot water from the collector and the cool water returning from the load are introduced into the tank. In applications in which the return water is maintained at or beyond the storage temperature extremes (collector water at least as hot as the warmest storage water and makeup water at least as cold as the coolest storage water) inlets of conventional design may provide good stratification. In general, however, these conditions will not be realized. The collector water temperature may, for example, be modulated due to an intermittent cloud cover. The load return temperature may vary with the load supply temperature and, consequently, may be well above the minimum tank temperature. Inlet manifolds are described in this paper which act to preserve stratification in a tank subjected to variable inlet temperature conditions. The performance of these manifolds is contrasted with that of conventional inlets subjected to the same experimental conditions.
Null Mutation of 5α-Reductase Type I Gene Alters Ethanol Consumption Patterns in a Sex-Dependent Manner

The neuroactive steroid allopregnanolone (ALLO) is a positive modulator of GABAA receptors, and manipulation of neuroactive steroid levels via injection of ALLO or the 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride alters ethanol self-administration patterns in male, but not female, mice. The Srd5a1 gene encodes the enzyme 5α-reductase-1, which is required for the synthesis of ALLO. The current studies investigated the influence of Srd5a1 deletion on voluntary ethanol consumption in male and female wildtype (WT) and knockout (KO) mice. Under a continuous access condition, 6 and 10 % ethanol intake was significantly greater in KO versus WT females, but significantly lower in KO versus WT males. In 2-h limited access sessions, Srd5a1 deletion retarded acquisition of 10 % ethanol intake in female mice, but facilitated it in males, versus respective WT mice. The present findings demonstrate that the Srd5a1 gene modulates ethanol consumption in a sex-dependent manner that is also contingent upon ethanol access condition and concentration.
Mass Transfer in Concentrated Binary Electrolytes

The macroscopic description of multicomponent diffusion serves as a basis for the development of equations in a useful form for electrochemical transport problems. A method is proposed for predicting the concentration dependence of the resulting transport parameters. Die makroskopische Beschreibung der Mehrkomponentendiffusion dient als Ausgangspunkt fur die Aufstellung von Gleichungen, die auf elektrochemische Transportprobleme angewandt werden konnen. Es wird ein Verfahren vorgeschlagen, nach dem die Konzentrationsabhangigkeit der in diesen Gleichungen auftretenden Transportparameter vorhergesagt werden kann.
Muscarinic-induced modulation of potassium conductances is unchanged in mouse hippocampal pyramidal cells that lack functional M1 receptors

Activation of muscarinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors (mAChRs) increases excitability of pyramidal cells by inhibiting several K+ conductances, including the after-hyperpolarization current (Iahp), the M-current (Im), and a leak K+ conductance (Ileak). Based on pharmacological evidence and the abundant localization of M1 receptors in pyramidal cells, it has been assumed that the M1 receptor is responsible for mediating these effects. However, given the poor selectivity of the pharmacological agents used to characterize these mAChR responses, rigorous characterization of the receptor subtypes that mediate these actions has not been possible. Surprisingly, patch clamp recording from CA1 pyramidal cells in M1 knockout mice revealed no significant difference in the degree of inhibition of Iahp, Im, or Ileak by the mAChR agonist, carbachol (CCh), as compared with wildtype controls. In addition, the M1-toxin was not able to block CCh's inhibition of the Iahp, Im, or Ileak. These data demonstrate that the M1 receptor is not involved in increasing CA1 pyramidal cell excitability by mediating ACh effects on these K+ conductances.
Performance limitations in sensitivity reduction for nonlinear plants

Abstract This paper investigates performance limitations imposed by ‘non-minimum phase’ characteristics of a nonlineaR time-varying plant. A performance criterion is defined which, in the linear case, is analogous to minimizing the sensitivity over a given frequency band. It is shown that if the nonlinear plant is ‘non-minimum phase’, then the frequency-weighted sensitivity cannot be made arbitrarily small while keeping the overall sensitivity bounded. The non-minimum phasedness of the plant is stated in terms of a deficiency in its range. These results extend the familiar ‘push/pop’ phenomenon in sensitivity optimization to a nonlinear time-varying setting.
Role of N2-fixation in Constructed Old-field Communities Under Different Regimes of [CO2], Temperature, and Water Availability

Nitrogen fixation was measured in constructed old-field ecosystems that were exposed for 3 years to different combinations of elevated atmospheric [CO2] and temperature (300 ppm and 3°C above ambient, respectively), and ambient or reduced soil moisture (corresponding to 25 or 2 mm rainfall per week). The old-fields included seven planted herbaceous annual and perennial species, including two legumes (Trifolium pratense and Lespedeza cuneata). Potential asymbiotic N2-fixation by soils, measured in laboratory incubations, was significantly less under the “dry” treatment but was estimated to contribute little overall to annual ecosystem N budgets. Foliar N concentrations declined significantly under elevated [CO2]. Effects of the three environmental factors on the mean (±SE) fraction of legume N derived from atmospheric N2 (FN dfa) varied from year-to-year, and FN dfa ranged from 0.64 ± 0.05 to 0.94 ± 0.03 depending on species and growing season. High rates of symbiotic N2-fixation (4.6–12 g N m−2 y−1) that annually contributed from 44% to 51% to the aboveground N stock in the old-field community was an important process driving changes in species composition over the 3-year experiment. Lespedeza biomass increased over time at the expense of several other species, including the other N-fixer, Trifolium. The dominance of Lespedeza in our ecosystem was due to high symbiotic N2-fixation rates, as well as shading effects on other species. The high symbiotic N2-fixation rates were largely independent of manipulations of [CO2], temperature, and water. The relatively high percentage of the aboveground N stock in this ecosystem contributed by symbiotic N2-fixation suggests that non-legume species may have benefited indirectly via reduced community demands on soil N supplies. Species-specific traits were important in the constructed ecosystems, indicating that multi-species studies are required for understanding complex interactions among environmental factors and dynamic changes in community composition.
Re: Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: omitting a pelvic drain

carcinoma: comprehensive analysis of 104 cases from multicenter European database. Urology. 2005; 65: 681-6. 3. Dall’oglio MF, Antunes AA, Pompeo AC, Mosconi A, Leite KR, Srougi M: Prognostic relevance of the histological subtype of renal cell carcinoma. Int Braz J Urol. 2008; 34: 3-8.4. Delahunt B, Bethwaite PB, Nacey JN: Outcome predic-tion for renal cell carcinoma: evaluation of prognostic factors for tumours divided according to histological subtype. Pathology. 2007; 39: 459-65.5. Delahunt B, Sika-Paotonu D, Bethwaite PB, McCredie MR, Martignoni G, Eble JN, et al.: Fuhrman grading is not appropriate for chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. Am J Surg Pathol. 2007; 31: 957-60. 6. Kim H, Cho NH, Kim DS, Kwon YM, Kim EK, Rha SH, et al.: Renal cell carcinoma in South Korea: a multicenter study. Hum Pathol. 2004; 35: 1556-63. 7. Moch H, Gasser T, Amin MB, Torhorst J, Sauter G, Mihatsch MJ: Prognostic utility of the recently recom-mended histologic classification and revised TNM stag-ing system of renal cell carcinoma: a Swiss experience with 588 tumors. Cancer. 2000; 89: 604-14. 8. Patard JJ, Leray E, Rioux-Leclercq N, Cindolo L, Ficarra V, Zisman A, et al. Prognostic value of histo-logic subtypes in renal cell carcinoma: a multicenter experience. J Clin Oncol. 2005; 23: 2763-71.
Ethics, audience, and the writing process: Bringing public policy issues into the classroom

Public policy issues in professional writing may be understood, in part, by revisiting our understanding of the writing process and of the way character, or ethos, is shaped in the writing and reading of a text. This paper suggests a method for modeling the characters of writers, readers, and sponsoring organizations as they are shaped in the process of writing about public policy issues. The model is then used to examine the classroom oral presentations of four professionals who were involved in different ways with the same controversial public policy issue. The goal is to integrate classroom considerations of the writing process and of audience analysis, of personal and professional ethics, and of relevant workplace controversies.
Regulating State Trading Enterprises in the World Trade Organization: An Urgent Need for Change? Evidence from the 2003–2004 U.S.-Canada Grain Dispute

Article XVII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is the main World Trade Organization (WTO) vehicle for regulating trade-distorting policies implemented through state trading enterprises (STEs). The effectiveness of Article XVII depends on how WTO dispute panels and the Appellate Body interpret the provisions. This study examines the 2003 WTO trade dispute case between the United States and Canada over Canadian grain imports and the practices of the Canadian Wheat Board, an export STE. We conclude that the WTO panel and Appellate Body rationales for their findings demonstrate that Article XVII needs substantial revision for the WTO to discipline STE trade-distorting practices.
Bounds on Mahalanobis norms and their applications

Abstract Local and global bounds for ratios of norms, and minimal and maximal norms, are constructed for pairs and ensembles of quadratic norms of R k , with corresponding results for Mahalanobis distance functions. These support envelopes for distributions of certain quadratic forms in Gaussian variates. Applications are noted in the use of quadratic classification rules and in assessing hit probabilities in ballistic systems.
An investigation of nanoparticles addition on solidification kinetics and microstructure development of tin–lead solder

Abstract High strength solders can be engineered by adding trace amounts of nanopowders into solder paste. An experimental study was conducted for a better understanding of the solidification kinetics and microstructure development of such nano-composite tin–lead solders. The composite solder pastes were prepared by mechanically mixing nanopowders of either copper or TiO 2 with tin–lead powders (tens of microns in size). Solidification experiments of the composite solders were performed in an aluminum crucible with temperature variation during cooling and solidification being measured. For the titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanopowders-reinforced composite solders, the test data reveals the occurrence of melt undercooling followed by recalescence at an increased melting temperature. However, for the copper nanopowders-reinforced composite solders, a reduced melting temperature coupled with two-stages of solidification was distinctly evident. Metallographic observations of the solidified composite solders revealed a reduction in both the grain size and spacing of the eutectic lamellae. This is responsible for the observed increase in microhardness.
Picturing JQC's Future

Like AI Blumstein, I came to criminology via operations research (OR) and, earlier, via electrical engineering, when I was engaged in designing a radio system for the Boston Police Department (Maitz and Waldron 1968; Maitz 1970). I subsequently became an OR analyst for the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (now NIJ) in 1969. After 3 years of seasoning, I started teaching criminal justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (now UIC without the Circle1). There I taught inter alia undergraduate and graduate statistics and research methods. Having never taken them, I had to learn them on the fly. But like most engineers, I had a strong background in dealing with data, so it was not too problematic.2 But I brought different ways of looking at data (with an emphasis on the word look). Engineers and most hard scientists are taught to plot the data as they collect them. In physics we added weights to a spring and plotted the spring's length against the applied weight; we dropped an object and plotted the time it takes to fall different distances. It is through such exercises that we were able to demonstrate the linear relationship in the first example and the quadratic relationship in the second. In becoming a criminologist, however, I found that I had to deal with different types of data, for the most part based on random samples. The National Crime Survey (NCS), and its successor, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NVCS), were based on samples, as were a number of other important data sets. I set out to learn the methods of dealing with
Fast checkpoint recovery algorithms for frequently consistent applications

Advances in hardware have enabled many long-running applications to execute entirely in main memory. As a result, these applications have increasingly turned to database techniques to ensure durability in the event of a crash. However, many of these applications, such as massively multiplayer online games and main-memory OLTP systems, must sustain extremely high update rates - often hundreds of thousands of updates per second. Providing durability for these applications without introducing excessive overhead or latency spikes remains a challenge for application developers.In this paper, we take advantage of frequent points of consistency in many of these applications to develop novel checkpoint recovery algorithms that trade additional space in main memory for significantly lower overhead and latency. Compared to previous work, our new algorithms do not require any locking or bulk copies of the application state. Our experimental evaluation shows that one of our new algorithms attains nearly constant latency and reduces overhead by more than an order of magnitude for low to medium update rates. Additionally, in a heavily loaded main-memory transaction processing system, it still reduces overhead by more than a factor of two.
Measuring poly-victimization using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire.

Objective: Children who experience multiple victimizations (referred to in this paper as poly-victims) need to be identified because they are at particularly high risk of additional victimization and traumatic psychological effects. This paper compares alternative ways of identifying such children using questions from the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ). Methods: The JVQ was administered in a national random digit dial telephone survey about the experiences of 2,030 children. The victimizations of children 10–17 years old were assessed through youth self-report on the JVQ and the victimizations of children 2–9 assessed through JVQ caregiver proxy report. Results: Twenty-two percent of the children in this sample had experienced four or more different kinds of victimizations in separate incidents (what we term poly-victimization) within the previous year. Such poly-victimization was highly associated with traumatic symptomatology. Several ways of identifying poly-victims with the JVQ produced roughly equivalent results: a simple count using the 34 victimizations screeners, a count using a reduced set of only 12 screeners, and the original poly-victimization measure using follow-up questions to identify victimizations occurring during different episodes.
CO2 LASER FUSION OF A VERTICAL ROOT FRACTURE

Background Vertical root fractures have had a poor prognosis and often have negative clinical and financial consequences for the patient.
Effect of additive molecular structure on friction

Work is reviewed on the adsorption properties of typical friction reducing additives, at monolayer coverage, operating in the boundary lubrication regime. It looks at adhesive interactions, lateral interactions between adsorbate molecules, and transition temperatures. The adsorption properties of typical friction reducing additives can be accounted for by hydrogen bonding to surfaces and the lateral interactions between adsorbate molecules.
Latex film formation : atomic force microscopy and theoretical results

Abstract We have critically examined the kinetics of latex film formation using an atomic force microscope to obtain corrugation height data as a function of time, temperature, molecular weight, particle size, etc. The results show that the film forming process obeys viscoelastic time/ temperature superposition principles, thus indicating a direct relationship between the kinetics of film formation and rheological properties. Film formation kinetics are examined under ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ conditions, with film formation occurring almost ten-times faster under wet conditions than dry. This proves for the latex system examined that capillary pressure from the water meniscus is the dominant driving stress for film formation. Past theories for latex film formation are reviewed, and problems and deficiencies are noted. A new theory for film formation from a dry latex system is presented, which is based on the use of the Boltzmann Superposition Principle to relate the changing stress and strain fields as the latex particles deform. The predictions of theory and the experimental data show excellent agreement over nearly four decades of time.
Lysate array analyses of signal transduction inhibitors in tumor cell lines

We probed the ability of reverse lysate array technology to help explain potential differences in the responses of cancer cells to various small-molecule kinase inhibitors. To understand the antitumor potential of signal transduction inhibitors and their effects on signaling pathways downstream of Src, we used reverse lysate array technology to study SIG11293, a selective inhibitor of Src and LcK kinases, and AEE788, a selective inhibitor of Kdr (VEGFR1) and epidermal growth factor receptor/ErbB-2 that also has affinity for Src, c-abl, c-fms, and Flt-1. We observed the effects of drug dose on cell killing and expression and phosphorylation of various signal transduction proteins in MDA435 and MDA231 human breast cancer cells and U251HF glioblastoma cells. After 24 h, SIG11293 induced the least amount of cell killing in MDA435 cells; decreased Stat3(pY705) and Src(pY529) in all cell lines; decreased Src(pY418) and total Src in MDA231 and MDA435 cells, but not U251 cells; and in U251 cells, uniquely increased activated caspase 3, Src(pY418), panSrc, and p70S6K. AEE788 decreased Src(pY529) and Stat3(pY705) in U251HF and MDA435 cells. In regard to Src phosphorylation, both drugs decreased the negative regulatory site, Src (pY529), more than the positive regulatory site, Src(pY418), relative to total Src. These observations suggest that the two drugs have complex and different effects on Src signaling pathways. Although this general conclusion could be predicted, we believe that these studies exemplify the ability and robustness of reverse lysate arrays to measure signaling pathway modulation in tumor cells. Our hope is that these techniques will help to develop more robust preclinical and, eventually, clinical treatment paradigms.
Computing for pattern forming systems in nonlinear optics

Abstract Methods used to compute solutions of nonlinear PDEs arising in nonlinear optics are described. In addition a spectral method is presented for integrating dispersion dominated PDEs that works particularly well in integrating systems where a modulational ansatz is appropriate.
Potential impacts of alternative energy situations on land use and values

Abstract Dramatic changes in the energy sector during the 1970's with respect to energy price have required adjustments in all other sectors of the economy. The agricultural sector has experienced direct as well as indirect effects of increased energy prices. In this study, the potential impacts of increased energy prices and reduced supply of energy in the farm sector, on farm land use, and its shadow prices are analyzed. The impacts on dryland use and irrigated land use are compared, as irrigated farming is more energy intensive compared to dryland farming.