cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quorum Sensing Contributes to Seed‐to‐Seedling Transmission of Acidovorax citrulli on Watermelon

AbstractBased on the observation that Acidovorax citrulli switches from saprobic topathogenic growth for seed-to-seedling transmission of bacterial fruitblotch of cucurbits (BFB), we hypothesized that quorum sensing (QS) wasinvolved in the regulation of this process. Using aacI (luxI homologue) andaacR (luxR homologue) mutants of AAC00-1, we investigated the role ofQS in watermelon seed colonization and seed-to-seedling transmission ofBFB. aacR and aacI mutants of AAC00-1 colonized germinating water-melon seed at wild-type levels; however, BFB seed-to-seedling transmis-sion was affected in a cell density-dependent manner. There were nosigniﬁcant differences in BFB seedling transmission between watermelonseed inﬁltrated with approximately 1 9 10 6 CFU of AAC00-1, the aacR oraacI deletion mutants (95.2, 94.9 and 98.3% BFB incidence, respectively).In contrast, when seed inoculum was reduced to approximately1 9 10 3 CFU/seed, BFB seed-to-seedling transmission declined to 34.3%for the aacI mutant, which was signiﬁcantly less than the wild type(78.6%). Interestingly, BFB seed-to-seedling transmission for the aacRmutant was not signiﬁcantly different to the wild-type strain. These datasuggest that QS plays a role in regulation of genes involved in seed-to-seedling transmission of BFB.IntroductionBacterial fruit botch of cucurbits (BFB) caused byAcidovorax citrulli (Schaad et al. 2008) [formerly Acido-vorax avenae subsp. citrulli (Willems et al. 1992) =Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes subsp. citrulli (Schaadet al. 1978)] is a serious threat to cucurbit productionworldwide. The disease was ﬁrst reported in commer-cial watermelon ﬁelds in Florida in 1989 (Somodiet al. 1991) and has subsequently become a majoreconomic threat to cucurbit seed producers world-wide (Walcott 2008). Acidovorax citrulli-infested cucur-bit seed is the most important source of primaryinoculum for BFB outbreaks, which can cause up to100% cucurbit yield loss under favourable ﬁeld condi-tions (Latin and Hopkins 1995).Despite signiﬁcant disease management efforts,including zero tolerance for A. citrulli in cucurbit seedand transplant production, sporadic but costly BFBoutbreaks still occur worldwide (Walcott 2008). Aspathogen exclusion and seed treatments are not100% effective, new approaches are needed to limitlosses caused by BFB. Unfortunately, limited informa-tion is currently available on the host–pathogeninteractions that lead to BFB seed-to-seedling trans-mission, especially during the early stages of seedgermination. In preliminary studies, we observedthat a non-pathogenic A. citrulli type III secretion sys-tem mutant (AAC00-1ΔhrcC) retained the ability tocolonize seed during the ﬁrst 96 h of germination(Johnson et al. 2011). However, by 6 days after plant-ing, AAC00-1ΔhrcC population growth declined signi-ﬁcantly relative to the wild-type strain. Additionally,a type II secretion system mutant of A. citrulli retainedpathogenicity on watermelon leaf tissue but was lim-ited in its ability to colonize watermelon seed during
The Relevance of Forest Fragmentation on the Incidence of Human Babesiosis: Investigating the Landscape Epidemiology of an Emerging Tick-Borne Disease

Abstract Babesiosis is an emerging arthropod-borne infection that has been increasing in incidence for the last decade in the northeastern United States. Babesiosis may share features of its landscape epidemiology with other arthropod-borne infections transmitted by the same tick vectors in similar geographic spaces. This study examined 11 years of surveillance data in New York State to measure the relationship between forest fragmentation and the incidence of human babesiosis. Adjusted Poisson models showed that increasing edges of contact between forested land and developed land, as measured by their shared perimeters, was associated with a higher incidence of babesiosis cases (incident rate ratio [IRR]=1.015, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.02; p<0.001), even after controlling for the total developed land area and forest density, and temperature and precipitation. Each 10-km increase in perimeter contact between forested land and developed land per county was associated with a 1.5% increase in babe...
Specification testing under moment inequalities

Abstract We provide a specification test for moment inequalities based on a dual characterization of the moment inequalities. For linear moment inequalities, the test is the asymptotic version of the multi-dimensional linear one-sided tests. For nonlinear moment inequalities, the implementation of the test is not practical because the dual characterization takes the form of a multi-dimensional nonlinear one-sided hypothesis.
Drug release from an erodible drug-polyelectrolyte complex

Abstract The release of oxprenolol from drug-PMMA/MANa gel beads via the erosion process was investigated. A synchronized constant gel thickness was observed because the rates of swelling and erosion are equal, resulting in non-Fickian release kinetics. The release of oxprenolol HCl was influenced to a smaller extent by the pH and buffer concentration of the dissolution medium. At pH 5.9 in 1/15 M buffer, erosion did not occur due to the lower pH condition in comparison with the pKa of PMMA/MAA. As a result, the drug release was severely retarded.
Stalin's Hyper-Realism

Book reviewed in this article: Gabriel Gorodetsky, Grand Delusion: Stalin and the German Invasion of Russia
Physical processes of ionospheric heating experiments

Abstract Plasma instabilities, resulting from the presence of a powerful radio wave in ionospheric heating experiments, are reviewed. First the linear theories of the parametric decay instability and of the oscillating two-stream instability are considered. The saturation theories of these instabilities for weak pump waves are then outlined and their results are shown to be in reasonably good agreement with observations. Different theories are needed for excitation by strong pump waves. Such theories generally invoke the formation of cavitons. Observations suggesting the formation of cavitons are outlined. The differences between caviton properties derived from observations and the properties derived from existing theories are pointed out. The effect of plasma instabilities on the creation or modification of a population of energetic electrons in ionospheric heating experiments is demonstrated by indirect observations of the temporal evolution of energetic electron fluxes after the heating transmitter is switched on.
Critical role of interleukin-2 in the development of acute graft-versus-host disease.

Prior work using the parent-into-F1 model of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) has shown that production of IL-2 by donor CD4+ T cells is an early, initiating event in either acute or stimulatory forms of GVHD. The aim of the present study was to determine whether acute GVHD could be prevented by blocking the effects of IL-2 in vivo during the first 2 weeks of disease. Acute GVHD was induced in B6D2F1 mice by the injection of C57BL/6 spleen cells i.v. Mice were untreated or received either anti-IL-2 mAb (S4B6) or control mAb at the time of GVHD induction and 1 week later. At 2 weeks, untreated or control mAb treated GVHD mice exhibited findings typical of acute GVHD, i.e. (i) in vitro donor anti-host cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity, (ii) significant reductions in both numbers and function of splenic lymphocytes, and (iii) in vitro suppressor cell activity which profoundly blocked IL-2 production by normal syngeneic spleen cells. All of these findings were reversed or significantly inhibited in acute GVHD mice receiving anti-IL-2 treatment. Additionally, anti-IL-2 treated GVHD mice exhibited features previously observed in stimulatory GVHD such as: (i) B cell hyperactivity, (ii) a mild defect in CD4+ T cell production of IL-2 in vitro, and (iii) the ability to induce in co-culture a similar CD4+ cell defect in normal, syngeneic F1 spleen cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Dressing Modern Maternity: The Frankfurt Sisters of Dallas and the Page Boy Label Kay Goldman. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2013.

Dressing Modern Maternity: The Frankfurt Sisters of Dallas and the Page Boy Label Kay Goldman. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 2013.Kay Goldman's Dressing Modern Maternity is the true-life story of three Jewish-American sisters and their attainment of the American Dream. This enjoyable read covers the birth of a fashion category and the challenges of family business and women entrepreneurs, offering a variety of information that will be of interest to those in fashion studies, women's studies, clothing culture, Judaic studies, anthropology and more.The book begins by placing maternity wear in historical context. The conundrum: how to construct a fashionable garment that allows for the physical changes of the body during pregnancy. One of three Dallas sisters, Elsie Frankfurt, puts her business and design skills to the test to seek a solution for her older sister during a first pregnancy. The solution: a twopiece dress including a pleated top falling to the hip, worn over a skirt with a unique window opening in the front controlled by a system of loops and drawstrings. The solution allowed for a fitted skirt throughout the entire pregnancy and matched the silhouette of the day.By the end of 1937, Page Boy, the sisters' business, opened its first store in the Dallas Medical Arts Building, home to many OB/GYNs. A patent for the design followed in 1938 setting the stage for Page Boy's development into a vertical manufacturing business. Edna and Elsie were shortly joined by their younger sister, Louise, and the three became quite successful providing innovative, stylish, and on-trend maternity garments for many years. The sisters were savvy businesswomen, able to parlay depression-era finances into a thriving company with a boost from the postwar baby boom. Increased profits allowed the sisters to build a new factory and showroom in 1949 that doubled their production capability.Elsie became the primary face of Page Boy and was responsible for many a novel marketing, promotional, and publicity campaign. In 1947, she arranged a show of maternity garments at New York's Stork Club, subsequently donating two storks to the Dallas Zoo on behalf of the company. The sisters made use their social connections, particularly within the Jewish community that included many players in the Dallas garment trade, including celebrated retailer Stanley Marcus.As the remaining single sister, Elsie began to travel extensively and spend a great deal of time away from Dallas. …
A drowned lycopsid forest above the Mahoning coal (Conemaugh Group, Upper Pennsylvanian) in eastern Ohio, U.S.A.

Over 800 mud-filled casts of upright lycopsid tree stumps have been documented immediately above the Mahoning coal in an active underground mine located in northwestern Jefferson County, Ohio. The coal body originated as a pod-shaped peat body of ∼ 60 km2. Trees are rooted at several levels within a thin (15–40 cm) bone coal directly above the banded coal; they extend upward up to 15 cm into overlying, flat-bedded, carbonaceous mudstones that coarsen up. From a maximum basal diameter of 1.2 m, stumps taper upward to diameters no less than 0.3 m. Within single-entry transects, < 6 m wide that total 2585 m in length, stumps are randomly distributed. The trees are identified as lepidodenrids on the basis of gross morphology, external stem patterns, and attached stigmarian root systems, and provisionally as Lepidophloios or Lepidodendron by associated palynology of the enclosing matrix. Palynological analyses of incremental seam samples indicate an initial dominance of lycopsid spores with lepidodendracean affinities (Lycospora granulata from Lepidophloios hallii), replaced upwards by tree-fern spores, with a reoccurrence of lepidodendracean spores in the upper benches: spores of Sigillaria (Crassispora) are abundant only at the base of the coal. Petrographic analyses indicate a prallel trend from vitrinite-rich to inertinite- and liptinite-rich upward in the coal body. All data indicate that the peat represented by the Mahoning coal was drowned slowly. During the earliest stages of inundation, a lycopsid forest was re-established, only to be subsequently drowned.
Charge-exchange measurements of beam ion thermalization in MHD-quiescent plasmas in the Poloidal Divertor Experiment

The horizontally scanning, multi-angle charge-exchange analyser on the Poloidal Divertor Experiment (PDX) was used to study the beam ion slowing-down process with high-power perpendicular injection. Measurements were made over a wide range in toroidal field (8 kG <BT<22 kG), plasma current (200 kA <Ip<500 kA), and beam power (1 MW <PB<7 MW). In MHD-quiescent plasmas, agreement is found between the measured slowing-down spectra and theoretical predictions as a function of both angle and energy. Classes of prompt orbit losses are observed with both co-and counter-injection which have been understood and applied to plasma diagnostics.
Selective inhibition of tumor microvascular permeability by cavtratin blocks tumor progression in mice

Tumor vasculature is hyperpermeable to macromolecules compared to normal vasculature; however, the relationship between tumor hyperpermeability and tumor progression is poorly understood. Here we show that a cell-permeable peptide derived from caveolin-1, termed cavtratin, reduces microvascular hyperpermeability and delays tumor progression in mice. These antipermeability and antitumor actions of cavtratin occur in the absence of direct cytostatic or antiangiogenic effects. Cavtratin blocks microvascular permeability by inhibiting endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), as the antipermeability and antitumor actions of cavtratin are markedly diminished in eNOS knockout mice. Our results support the concepts that hyperpermeability of tumor blood vessels contributes to tumor progression and that blockade of eNOS may be exploited as a novel target for antitumor therapy.
Anatomic double bundle ACL reconstruction: a literature review

With the abundance of anatomic double bundle ACL reconstruction techniques that currently exist and limited patient outcome data, one has to ask whether or not they should be used and if so, which one, and what is the learning curve for the average knee surgeon to become competent with the technique that they select? The purpose of this literature review is to summarize existing anatomic double bundle ACL reconstruction surgical and rehabilitation techniques and the clinical and biomechanical study evidence that currently exists. In choosing to perform anatomic double bundle ACL reconstruction we suggest that the knee surgeon should look for evidence of: (1) control of the pivot shift phenomenon, (2) improved transverse plane rotatory knee control during the performance of sports type movements, (3) a decreased likelihood of revision procedures either for ACL reconstruction or for treatment of associated primary or recurrent meniscal injuries, (4) improved patient self-reports of perceived function, satisfaction, and quality of life, and (5) radiographic evidence of a lower incidence and/or magnitude of osteoarthritic changes compared to conventional single bundle ACL reconstruction.
Factors influencing local recurrence after abdominoperineal resection for cancer of the rectum and rectosigmoid

One hundred and fifty-two patients who underwent abdominoperineal resection for cancer of the rectum and rectosigmoid are reviewed. Six physicians were selected to predict which of these patients would have a local recurrence. All the information available at the end of the operation was duplicated and submitted to the observers. None of the physicians was able to predict local recurrence significantly better than random. There were 31 local recurrences, i.e. an incidence of 20±4 per cent. Low level of tumour in the rectum, local spread into perirectal fat or serosa, lymph node involvement and age below 60 years at time of operation were the only factors that were statistically related to local recurrence. The strategy for careful follow-up of patients at risk is outlined and a plea is made for a controlled trial of postoperative radiotherapy.
Geometrical calibration for 3D x-ray imaging

Reconstructing a 3D structure from a set of its 2D X-ray projections requires that the source position and image plane orientation in 3D space be obtained with high accuracy for each of the imaging chain positions. This knowledge is generally obtained through a geometrical calibration of the data acquisition system. In this paper, we present a fully automatic method for such a geometrical calibration, well suited to a 3D X-ray imaging system which acquires sets of 2D projections during a rotation of the imaging chain. This method is based on (1) the use of a dedicated calibration phantom with reference points, (2) an automatic algorithm to detect and identify the reference points on the phantom's 2D X-Ray projections, and (3) the estimation of the imaging chain geometrical parameters by minimizing the reprojection mean quadratic error measured on these reference points. Results obtained both from simulation data and from data acquired on an experimental bench are presented.
Woodruffia metabolica: An Exception to the Rule of Desmodexy

Woodruffia metabolica (Protozoa, Ciliophora) has a compound fiber on the left side of its ciliary rows composed of parallel, overlapping ribbons of kinetosome-based microtubules. No similar structure is found connecting the kinetosomes on the right side of the ciliary rows. This arrangement is in opposition to the rule of desmodexy.
Control of bone resorption in mice by Schnurri-3

Mice lacking the large zinc finger protein Schnurri-3 (Shn3) display increased bone mass, in part, attributable to augmented osteoblastic bone formation. Here, we show that in addition to regulating bone formation, Shn3 indirectly controls bone resorption by osteoclasts in vivo. Although Shn3 plays no cell-intrinsic role in osteoclasts, Shn3-deficient animals show decreased serum markers of bone turnover. Mesenchymal cells lacking Shn3 are defective in promoting osteoclastogenesis in response to selective stimuli, likely attributable to reduced expression of the key osteoclastogenic factor receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand. The bone phenotype of Shn3-deficient mice becomes more pronounced with age, and mice lacking Shn3 are completely resistant to disuse osteopenia, a process that requires functional osteoclasts. Finally, selective deletion of Shn3 in the mesenchymal lineage recapitulates the high bone mass phenotype of global Shn3 KO mice, including reduced osteoclastic bone catabolism in vivo, indicating that Shn3 expression in mesenchymal cells directly controls osteoblastic bone formation and indirectly regulates osteoclastic bone resorption.
Thermally Stable Dialkylzirconocenes with β-Hydrogens. Synthesis and Diastereoselectivity

Alkylation of Cpr2ZrCl2 (Cpr = Cp (η5-C5H5), Cp‘ (η5-C5H4Me), Cp* (η5-C5Me5)) and CpCp*Zr(CH3)Cl with 1-lithio-2-methylpentane (R1Li) gives the corresponding dialkylzirconocenes Cpr2ZrR12 and CpCp*...
Achieving Gasoline Price Stability in the U.S.: A Modest Proposal

simple means of reducing that variability, utilizing federal tax policies, without eliminating the signaling role of prices in the medium- to long-term. If properly implemented, the gyrations in gas prices could be largely removed, with little impact on the revenue that the federal government generates through taxation. If applied to the markets in nations that have significantly higher gasoline taxes, essentially all price volatility could be removed. The reassertion of power over international petroleum markets by OPEC in the late 1990s, coupled with accelerating world growth, resulted in high and variable prices for gasoline in the U.S. Ideally, these rising prices would result in an increase in supply from outside of OPEC, ameliorating the price increases. More importantly, they should encourage consumers to reduce consumption. Unfortunately, because of high price variability, demand is less likely to react to price changes in the gasoline market, since they are regarded as temporary. Until consumers are convinced that the observed price changes are permanent, little alteration in demand will occur. This type of situation prevails for other products, such as food, yet the characteristics of petroleum and the petroleum market suggest that a potential solution exists for this problem in this particular market. This paper examines price variability in the presence of taxation, with a focus on the gasoline market, and whether a simple mechanism could be used to reduce that variation. The intent would not be to undo the functioning of the market in the medium- and long-term, but rather to eliminate short-run gyrations that reduce the signaling value of prices. Although the results would presumably
Electromechanics of ionoelastic beams as electrically controllable artificial muscles

Presented are theoretical and experimental results on electrically controlled static and dynamic flexing and deformation of iono-elastic beams made with ionic-polymer metal composite (IPMC) artificial muscles. These composite materials have the capability of large motion sensing and actuation in a biomimetic fashion. The essence of the underlying iono-elastic response of such materials is due to Coulombic electro-dynamic charge interaction amongst a dispersed phase of metallic particles that are charged either positively or negatively, mobile phase of a cation such as hydrogen ions H+ (Protons) or Li+, Hydroxyl anions OH-, and a fixed anionic phase such as an assembly of sulfonates SO3- elastically attached to the backbone polymer network macromolecules. The mathematical model presented is analogous to classical Euler-Bernoulli's beam theory modified to accommodate a non-homoeneous distributed electrically-induced moment due to the presence of a non-homogeneous electric field in an elastic material. The presentation may be extended to materials governed by hyper- elasticity such as in rubber elasticity. Analytical solution obtained agree reasonably well with our experimental results on Cationic Polymer-Platinum Composites (CPPC) which are also reported in this paper.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Nicotine patch therapy in smoking cessation reduces the extent of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia

Abstract Objectives. We sought to determine the effects of nicotine patch therapy, when used to promote smoking cessation, on myocardial ischemia in patients with coronary artery disease. Background. Nicotine patches substantially increase quit rates among cigarette smokers, but their safety in patients with myocardial ischemia who are attempting to quit smoking is unknown. Methods. This is a prospective study using exercise thallium-201 single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to assess serial changes in the total and ischemic myocardial perfusion defect size at baseline while patients were smoking and during treatment with 14- and 21-mg nicotine patches. Entry criteria required that patients 1) smoked ≥1 pack of cigarettes per day; 2) had known coronary artery disease; and 3) had myocardial ischemia (i.e., ≥5% reversible perfusion defect) on SPECT. All patients performed symptom-limited treadmill exercise, and the baseline SPECT study served as its own control. We interpreted and computer quantified the SPECT images with no knowledge of the testing sequence. Results. Thirty-six of the 40 enrolled patients had exercise SPECT at baseline and during treatment with at least 14-mg nicotine patches. These patients had an initial perfusion defect size of 17.5 ± 10.6% while smoking an average of 31 ± 11 cigarettes per day for 40 ± 12 years. A significant reduction in the total perfusion defect size (p Conclusions. Nicotine patches, when used to promote smoking cessation, significantly reduce the extent of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia as assessed by exercise thallium-201 SPECT. (J Am Coll Cardiol 1997;30:125–30)
Listeria monocytogenes σB Has a Small Core Regulon and a Conserved Role in Virulence but Makes Differential Contributions to Stress Tolerance across a Diverse Collection of Strains

Listeria monocytogenes strains are classified in at least three distinct phylogenetic lineages. There are correlations between lineage classification and source of bacterial isolation; e.g., human clinical and food isolates usually are classified in either lineage I or II. However, human clinical isolates are overrepresented in lineage I, while food isolates are overrepresented in lineage II. σB, a transcriptional regulator previously demonstrated to contribute to environmental stress responses and virulence in L. monocytogenes lineage II strains, was hypothesized to provide differential abilities for L. monocytogenes survival in various niches (e.g., food and human clinical niches). To determine if the contributions of σB to stress response and virulence differ across diverse L. monocytogenes strains, ΔsigB mutations were created in strains belonging to lineages I, II, IIIA, and IIIB. Paired parent and ΔsigB mutant strains were tested for survival under acid and oxidative stress conditions, Caco-2 cell invasion efficiency, and virulence using the guinea pig listeriosis infection model. Parent and ΔsigB mutant strain transcriptomes were compared using whole-genome expression microarrays. σB contributed to virulence in each strain. However, while σB contributed significantly to survival under acid and oxidative stress conditions and Caco-2 cell invasion in lineage I, II, and IIIB strains, the contributions of σB were not significant for these phenotypes in the lineage IIIA strain. A core set of 63 genes was positively regulated by σB in all four strains; different total numbers of genes were positively regulated by σB in the strains. Our results suggest that σB universally contributes to L. monocytogenes virulence but specific σB-regulated stress response phenotypes vary among strains.
Properties and regional distribution of nicotinic cholinergic receptors in the rat hypothalamus

Abstract The rat hypothalamus has the capacity to bind α-bungarotoxin with high affinity to a saturable number of non-interacting receptors with a pharmacologic profile consistent with a nicotinic receptor. Studies of the hypothalamic nuclear distribution of cholinergic receptors showed no specific pattern of enrichment of muscarinic receptors. In contrast, there was a distinct distribution of nicotinic receptors with high concentrations in the suprachiasmatic, dorsomedial and preoptic suprachiasmatic nuclei. Thus, the quantitative distribution of nicotinic receptors in hypothalamic nuclei is in general agreement with the observed autoradiographic distribution of radioactive alpha bungarotoxin. Further, these results confirm the existence of high concentrations of nicotinic receptors in hypothalamic regions of the rat implicated in neuroendocrine function.
Radiometric dating of ash partings in coal of the Eocene Puget Group, Washington: Implications for paleobotanical stages

New 40 K- 40 Ar and fission-track ages from volcanic ash partings in coal beds of the Eocene Puget Group of western Washington indicate a time span of about 41.2 ± 1.8 to 45.0 ± 2.1 (2σ) m.y. for the 1,890-m section of sediments exposed in the Green River area. These age data do not entirely support the previous early Eocene through early Oligocene paleobotanical age estimates for this section and for the four paleobotanical stages defined within it. Radiometric dating of floras assigned to the same stages outside the type section appears to be partially inconsistent with radiometric ages from the type section.
Community-based service use by elders with dementia and their caregivers: a latent class analysis.

Background With the increase in the number of older adults with dementia, research efforts have focused on increasing community-based support service (CBSS) use to improve older adult and caregiver outcomes. However, the research on factors that may explain CBSS use has been focused on individual characteristics, and how the care recipient and caregiver as a pair influence CBSS use has not been accounted for. Objective To classify care recipients with dementia and their caregivers who shared similar patterns of CBSS use and to identify predictors of class membership. Methods Participants were 1,813 elders with dementia and their caregivers from the National Longitudinal Caregiver Study, a cross-sectional dataset from 1998. A latent class analysis was used to identify classes of CBSS users by examining use of caregiver support group, home aide, home health, adult day care, and respite care. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine relationships between predisposing, enabling, and need variables and class membership. Results Three classes, that is, Low Users, Adult Day Users, and Home-Based Users, comprised 80%, 10%, and 10% of the sample, respectively. Adult Day Users reported significantly more enabling resources and greater service need. Predictors of home-based use included care recipient age, activities of daily living limitations, number of skilled nursing facilities in the local county, and the extent of caregiver physical limitations from comorbid conditions. Discussion Using latent class analysis allows identification of specific subtypes of CBSS users, prevalence of user subtype, and risk factors for underutilization. Determining the long-term outcomes of class membership may identify specific groups at risk, which could inform the design of interventions to improve assessment for and delivery of CBSS.
Cycling with Video Feedback Improves Performance in Untrained, but Not in Trained Women

The objectives of this study were to assess whether exercise performance responses could be altered when subjects were exposed to interactive video feedback and music (VFM), compared to music only feedback (M). Ten women, 5 well-trained (46.4 ± 4.7 ml × kg(-1) × min(-1)) and 5 untrained (34.5 ± 5.7 ml × kg(-1) × min(-1)) participated in the study. Neither the trained nor the untrained group exhibited significant differences in HR and VO2 between the VFM and M conditions. The trained subjects cycled at similar speeds and for similar distances during the VFM and M conditions, and also cycled at a higher average speed (23.5 ± 2.1 vs. 15.6 ± 3.2 km × h(-1)) and further (11.9 ± 1.1 vs. 7.8 ± 1.6 km) than the untrained subjects (p < 0.01). The untrained subjects cycled further and faster in the VFM versus M condition (p < 0.05), and both the average speed (15.6 ± 3.2 vs. 13.9 ± 2.3 km × h(-1)) and average distance cycled (7.8 ± 1.6 vs. 7.0 ± 1.2 km) were also improved in the VFM versus M condition (p < 0.05). No group or exercise condition differences were observed for ratings of perceived exertion or psychological performance. We conclude that VFM does not improve cycling performance in trained women, but untrained women cycle faster and further during a 30-min exercise session when exposed to a combination of interactive video and music feedback.
A Critique of Scanlon on Double Effect

According to the Principle of Double Effect (PDE), there are conditions under which it would be morally justifiable to cause some harm as a foreseen side-effect of one’s action even though it would not be justifiable to form and execute the intention of causing the same harm. If we take the kind of justification in question to be that of moral permissibility, this principle correctly maps common intuitions about when it would be permissible to act in certain ways. T.M. Scanlon argues that the PDE so interpreted is problematic, as it returns implausible verdicts in other scenarios. Scanlon is unable to account for the common pattern of moral reasoning that we employ in the relevant cases. I argue that we can account for this pattern while avoiding implausible verdicts if we interpret the PDE as a principle about when it is licit to inflict harm rather than when it is permissible to do so, and if we connect the concept of the licit with that of the permissible in the right way.
Empathy, Target Distress, and Neurohormone Genes Interact to Predict Aggression for Others–Even Without Provocation

Can empathy for others motivate aggression on their behalf? This research examined potential predictors of empathy-linked aggression including the emotional state of empathy, an empathy target's distress state, and the function of the social anxiety-modulating neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin. In Study 1 (N = 69), self-reported empathy combined with threat to a close other and individual differences in genes for the vasopressin receptor (AVPR1a rs3) and oxytocin receptor (OXTR rs53576) to predict self-reported aggression against a person who threatened a close other. In Study 2 (N = 162), induced empathy for a person combined with OXTR variation or with that person's distress and AVPR1a variation led to increased amount of hot sauce assigned to that person's competitor. Empathy uniquely predicts aggression and may do so by way of aspects of the human caregiving system in the form of oxytocin and vasopressin.
A level-set method for pathology segmentation in fluorescein angiograms and en face retinal images of patients with age-related macular degeneration

The visibility and continuity of the inner segment outer segment (ISOS) junction layer of the photoreceptors on spectral domain optical coherence tomography images is known to be related to visual acuity in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Automatic detection and segmentation of lesions and pathologies in retinal images is crucial for the screening, diagnosis, and follow-up of patients with retinal diseases. One of the challenges of using the classical level-set algorithms for segmentation involves the placement of the initial contour. Manually defining the contour or randomly placing it in the image may lead to segmentation of erroneous structures. It is important to be able to automatically define the contour by using information provided by image features. We explored a level-set method which is based on the classical Chan-Vese model and which utilizes image feature information for automatic contour placement for the segmentation of pathologies in fluorescein angiograms and en face retinal images of the ISOS layer. This was accomplished by exploiting a priori knowledge of the shape and intensity distribution allowing the use of projection profiles to detect the presence of pathologies that are characterized by intensity differences with surrounding areas in retinal images. We first tested our method by applying it to fluorescein angiograms. We then applied our method to en face retinal images of patients with AMD. The experimental results included demonstrate that the proposed method provided a quick and improved outcome as compared to the classical Chan-Vese method in which the initial contour is randomly placed, thus indicating the potential to provide a more accurate and detailed view of changes in pathologies due to disease progression and treatment.
Biological sources of inflexibility in brain and behavior with aging and neurodegenerative diseases

Almost unequivocally, aging and neurodegeneration lead to deficits in neural information processing. These declines are marked by increased neural noise that is associated with increased variability or inconsistency in behavioral patterns. While it is often viewed that these problems arise from dysregulation of dopamine (DA), a monoamine modulator, glutamate (GLU), an excitatory amino acid that interacts with DA, also plays a role in determining the level of neural noise. We review literature demonstrating that neural noise is highest at both high and low levels of DA and GLU, allowing their interaction to form a many-to-one solution map for neural noise modulation. With aging and neurodegeneration, the range over which DA and GLU can be modulated is decreased leading to inflexibility in brain activity and behavior. As the capacity to modulate neural noise is restricted, the ability to shift noise from one brain region to another is reduced, leading to greater uniformity in signal-to-noise ratios across the entire brain. A negative consequence at the level of behavior is inflexibility that reduces the ability to: 1) switch from one behavior to another; and 2) stabilize a behavioral pattern against external perturbations. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework where inflexibility across brain and behavior, rather than inconsistency and variability is the more important problem in aging and neurodegeneration. This theoretical framework of inflexibility in aging and neurodegeneration leads to the hypotheses that: 1) dysfunction in either or both of the DA and GLU systems restricts the ability to modulate neural noise; and 2) levels of neural noise and variability in brain activation will be dedifferentiated and more evenly distributed across the brain; and 3) changes in neural noise and behavioral variability in response to different task demands and changes in the environment will be reduced.
Molecular charge dominates the inhibition of actomyosin in skinned muscle fibers by SH1 peptides

It is not definitively known whether the highly conserved region of myosin heavy chain around SH1 (Cys 707) is part of the actin-binding site. We tested this possibility by assaying for competitive inhibition of maximum Ca-activated force production of skinned muscle fibers by synthetic peptides which had sequences derived from the SH1 region of myosin. Force was inhibited by a heptapeptide (IRICRKG) with an apparent K0.5 of about 4 mM. Unloaded shortening velocity of fibers, determined by the slack test, and maximum Ca-activated myofibrillar MgATPase activity were also inhibited by this peptide, but both required higher concentrations. We found that other cationic peptides also inhibited force in a manner that depended on the charge of the peptide; increasing the net positive charge of the peptide increased its efficacy. The inhibition was not significantly affected by altering solution ionic strength (100–200 mM). Disulfide bond formation was not involved in the inhibitory mechanism because a peptide with Thr substituted for Cys was inhibitory in the presence or absence of DTT. Our data demonstrate that the net charge was the predominant molecular characteristic correlated with the ability of peptides from this region of myosin heavy chain to inhibit force production. Thus, the hypothesis that the SH1 region of myosin is an essential part of the force-producing interaction with actin during the cross-bridge cycle (Eto, M., R. Suzuki, F. Morita, H. Kuwayama, N. Nishi, and S. Tokura., 1990, J. Biochem. 108:499–504; Keane et al., 1990, Nature (Lond.). 344:265–268) is not supported.
Parameter Estimation of the Nonlinear Muskingum Model Using Parameter-Setting-Free Harmony Search

Although phenomenon-mimicking algorithms, such as genetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, and harmony search, have overcome the disadvantages of mathematical algorithms, such as the nonlinear least-squares method, segmented least-squares method, Lagrange multiplier method, a hybrid of pattern search and local search, and the Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno technique, the algorithms have an inherent shortcoming. They require a tedious and skillful parameter-setting process for the algorithm parameters, such as the crossover rate, mutation rate, acceleration coefficients, harmony memory considering rate, and pitch-adjusting rate. Thus, this study proposes a novel parameter-setting-free technique interfaced with a harmony search algorithm and applies it to the parameter estimation of the nonlinear Muskingum model, which is an optimization problem with continuous decision variables. Results show that the proposed technique found good model parameter values while outperforming a classical harmony sea...
Teaching Strategy as Design: A Report from the Field

Within the strategy field there exists a growing consensus that a capability for strategic thinking will be critical for the shapers of tomorrow's environments. The authors argue that pedagogy in strategy has not kept pace with theory and that the teaching of thinking is a missing component in our teaching of strategy. The authors describe a course focused on strategic thinking as a process of design and reflect on the issues raised in its development and initial offering.
Reasons for adolescent suicide attempts: associations with psychological functioning

ABSTRACT Objective To determine reasons for suicide attempts in adolescents and to examine the relationship between these reasons and psychological functioning. Method Self-reported reasons for suicide attempts and psychological functioning were examined in 120 adolescent suicide attempters who presented to a pediatric general hospital. Results Consistent with prior research, the most frequently endorsed motives for self-harm were to die, to escape, and to obtain relief. More manipulative reasons for overdose (such as making people sorry) were endorsed less frequently. Adolescents who cited death as a reason for their suicide attempt reported more hopelessness, socially prescribed perfectionism, depression, and anger expression. Discriminant function analyses indicated that high levels of depression and anger expression predicted a self-reported wish to die, and high levels of depression and socially prescribed perfectionism predicted death as the primary reason reported for the suicide attempt. Conclusions Systematic assessment of the reasons for a suicide attempt is a useful tool for clinicians in determining recommendations for follow-up treatment.
Caffeine dependence in teenagers.

Abstract This study identifies and characterizes symptoms of caffeine dependence in adolescents. Thirty-six adolescents who consumed caffeine daily and had some features of caffeine dependence on telephone screen were scheduled for outpatient evaluation. Evaluation included the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV—Youth Version (DISC-IV) and modified DISC-IV questions that assessed caffeine dependence based on DSM-IV substance dependence criteria. Of 36 subjects, 41.7% ( n =15) reported tolerance to caffeine, 77.8% ( n =28) described withdrawal symptoms after cessation or reduction of caffeine intake, 38.9% ( n =14) reported desire or unsuccessful attempts to control use, and 16.7% ( n =6) endorsed use despite knowledge of physical or psychological problems associated with caffeine. There was no significant difference in the amount of caffeine consumed daily by caffeine dependent versus non-dependent teenagers. These findings are important due to the vast number of adolescents who drink caffeinated beverages.
Composites via heterogeneous crosslinking of concentrated emulsions

Polymer composites based on an epoxy resin oligomer, an amine terminated oligomer or maleic anhydride, and one or several monomers among styrene, methyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate, and acrylonitrile have been prepared using the concentrated emulsion pathway. Each of the components of the composite was first transformed in a concentrated emulsion in which water with a low volume fraction was the continuous phase. The concentrated emulsions containing monomers were partially polymerized (to ensure their stability during the subsequent heating) before being mixed with one or two concentrated emulsions, each containing one of the above mentioned oligomers. The mixture of concentrated emulsions was subjected to heating for the complete polymerization of the monomer and for the reaction between the epoxy resin and the amine terminated oligomer or the maleic anhydride to occur. The reaction generates a crosslinking among the cells of the concentrated emulsions (heterogeneous crosslinking) and thus achieves compatibilization among various incompatible components. The composites were characterized using Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, swelling, as well as solubility measurements. Tensile measurements showed that the components of the composites were compatibilized and that the latter possess excellent mechanical properties.
Sequence-Specific Hydrolysis of Yeast tRNAphe Mediated by Metal-Free Bleomycin

Bleomycin A2 (BLM) was found to mediate sequence specific hydrolysis of tRNA(Phe) in the absence of added metal ions. BLM A2 promoted phosphodiester bond hydrolysis 3' to the pyrimidine residue at all resolved Py-Pu sites not involving modified bases, as demonstrated by high-resolution electrophoretic analysis of 5'- and 3'-32P-end-labeled substrates. The reaction proceeded with surprising facility, approaching efficiency that of oxidative strand scission mediated by the FeII.BLM A2 complex. By the use of a number of BLM congeners, as well as a study of the time, temperature, and salt dependence of the hydrolysis, it was shown that in many respects the hydrolytic reaction parallels the oxidative degradation of RNA and DNA mediated by metallobleomycins. Thus, in contrast to the well-characterized oxidative degradation of DNA and RNA by bleomycin studied for two decades, the present report documents the ability of certain metal-free bleomycins to mediate RNA hydrolysis.
Inhibiting glucose-regulated protein 78 modulates lipid metabolism through controlling stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1

Background Of the 230,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed annually, 70% express the estrogen receptor-a and may be treated with anti-estrogen therapies. While these drugs induce clinical benefit, over 50% will develop resistance. Recently, we have determined a key role of the unfolded protein response endoplasmic reticulum protein chaperone, glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), in mediating anti-estrogen resistance. We now expand the role of GRP78 to include regulation of lipid metabolism.
Collecting Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data to Identify and Reduce Health Disparities: Perceptions of Health Plan Enrollees

Collection of race, ethnicity, and primary language data of health plan members is a recognized important step in addressing disparities in health care. The authors conducted six focus groups to examine perceptions of Massachusetts consumers about collection and use of race/ethnicity and language data by health plans, preferences for how and when the data should be collected, and preferences for racial/ethnic categories. Consumers understood the utility of collecting primary language data from members but expressed concerns about the collection of race/ethnicity data. Despite these concerns, they provided suggestions for using the data to improve care. Their preferences for racial/ethnic categories suggested that they wanted a balance between simplicity and reasonable granular detail. Ultimately, consumers wanted to be assured that the information they provided to health plans would be used to improve quality, and they wanted to be able to provide this information without undue burden and with assurances ...