cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hepatic B7 homolog 1 expression is essential for controlling cold ischemia/reperfusion injury after mouse liver transplantation.

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains a key risk factor significantly affecting morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation (LT). B7 homolog 1 (B7-H1), a recently identified member of the B7 family, is known to play important roles in regulating local immune responses. We hypothesized that B7-H1 plays crucial roles during innate immune responses induced by hepatic I/R injury, and using B7-H1 knockout (KO) liver grafts, we tested this hypothesis in the mouse LT model with 24 hours of cold storage. Cold I/R injury in wild type (WT)-to-WT LT enhanced constitutive B7-H1 expression on dendritic cells and sinusoidal endothelial cells and promptly induced B7-H1 on hepatocytes. When B7-H1 KO liver grafts were transplanted into WT recipients, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and graft necrosis levels were significantly higher than those after WT-to-WT LT. Augmented tissue injury in B7-H1 KO grafts was associated with increased frequencies and absolute numbers of graft CD3+ T cells (particularly CD8+ T cells). B7-H1 KO grafts had significantly fewer annexin V+ CD8+ T cells, and this indicated a failure to delete infiltrating CD8+ T cells. To evaluate the relative contributions of parenchymal cell and bone marrow–derived cell (BMDC) B7-H1 expression, we generated and transplanted into WT recipients chimeric liver grafts lacking B7-H1 on parenchymal cells or BMDCs. A selective B7-H1 deficiency on parenchymal cells or BMDCs resulted in similar levels of ALT and liver injury, and this suggested that parenchymal cell and BMDC B7-H1 expression was involved in liver damage control. Human livers up-regulated B7-H1 expression after LT. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that graft tissue expression of B7-H1 plays a critical role in regulating inflammatory responses during LT-induced hepatic I/R injury, and negative coregulatory signals may have an important function in hepatic innate immune responses. (HEPATOLOGY 2011;)
Distributed intelligence: extending the power of the unaided, individual human mind

The history of the human race is one of increasing intellectual capability. Since the time of our early ancestors, our brains have gotten no bigger; nevertheless, there has been a steady accretion of new tools for intellectual work (including advanced visual interfaces) and an increasing distribution of complex activities among many minds. Despite this transcendence of human cognition beyond what is "inside" a person's head, most studies and frameworks on cognition have disregarded the social, physical, and artifactual surroundings in which cognition and human activity take place.Distributed intelligence provides an effective theoretical framework for understanding what humans can achieve and how artifacts and tools can be designed and evaluated to empower human beings and to change tasks.This paper presents and discusses the conceptual frameworks and systems that we have developed over the last decade to create effective socio-technical environments supporting distributed intelligence.
Screening patients with multi-detector computed axial tomography (MDCT): when will we inform patients about the risk of radiation?

Most patients never worry about radiation exposure when having medical imaging procedures and have limited accurate knowledge about radiation sources or equivalent risks.1 Physicians also appear to be largely unaware of the risks involved in subjecting patients to multi-detector computed tomographic (MDCT) scanning, with only 9% of referring physicians and 47% of radiologists aware of the increased risk of cancer from MDCT radiation dosage.2 The enhancement of patient and physician knowledge of radiation exposure is essential and critical. The National Academy of Science report on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BIER VII) estimated that a single population dose of 10 mSv is associated with a lifetime risk for developing a solid cancer or leukaemia by 1 in 1000 exposures.3 Our level 1 trauma centre emergency department recently installed a General Electric Lightspeed VCT MDCT scanner. This scanner has the ability to display the milligray (mGy)i and dose-length product (DLP) of each CT scan performed. We have found that, on average, the radiation exposure for trauma screening tests are: CT head, 70.42 mGy; CT …
Transforming Growth Factor-β Promotes Recruitment of Bone Marrow Cells and Bone Marrow-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells through Stimulation of MCP-1 Production in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Bone marrow-derived progenitor cells have recently been shown to be involved in the development of intimal hyperplasia after vascular injury. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) has profound stimulatory effects on intimal hyperplasia, but it is unknown whether these effects involve progenitor cell recruitment. In this study we found that although TGF-β had no direct effect on progenitor cell recruitment, conditioned media derived from vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) stimulated with TGF-β induced migration of both total bone marrow (BM) cells and BM-mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and also induced MSC differentiation into smooth muscle like cells. Furthermore, overexpression of the signaling molecule Smad3 in VSMC via adenovirus-mediated gene transfer (AdSmad3) enhanced the TGF-β's chemotactic effect. Microarray analysis of VSMC stimulated by TGF-β/AdSmad3 revealed monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) as a likely factor responsible for progenitor cell recruitment. We then demonstrated that TGF-β through Smad3 phosphorylation induced a robust expression of MCP-1 in VSMC. Recombinant MCP-1 mimicked the stimulatory effect of conditioned media on BM and MSC migration. In the rat carotid injury model, Smad3 overexpression significantly increased MCP-1 expression after vascular injury, consistent with our in vitro results. Interestingly, TGF-β/Smad3-induced MCP-1 was completely blocked by both Ro-32-0432 and rotterlin, suggesting protein kinase C-δ (PKCδ) may play a role in TGF-β/Smad3-induced MCP-1 expression. In summary, our data demonstrate that TGF-β, through Smad3 and PKCδ, stimulates VSMC production of MCP-1, which is a chemoattractant for bone marrow-derived cells, specifically MSC. Manipulation of this signaling system may provide a novel approach to inhibition of intimal hyperplasia.
Mosquito surveillance revealed lagged effects of mosquito abundance on mosquito-borne disease transmission: a retrospective study in Zhejiang, China.

Mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) are still threats to public health in Zhejiang. In this study, the associations between the time-lagged mosquito capture data and MBDs incidence over five years were used to examine the potential effects of mosquito abundance on patterns of MBDs epidemiology in Zhejiang during 2008–2012. Light traps were used to collect adult mosquitoes at 11 cities. Correlation tests with and without time lag were performed to investigate the correlations between MBDs incidence rates and mosquito abundance by month. Selected MBDs consisted of Japanese encephalitis (JE), dengue fever (DF) and malaria. A Poisson regression analysis was performed by using a generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach, and the most parsimonious model was selected based on the quasi-likelihood based information criterion (QICu). We identified five mosquito species and the constituent ratio of Culex pipiens pallens, Culex tritaeniorhynchus, Aedes albopictus, Anopheles sinensis and Armigeres subalbatus was 66.73%, 21.47%, 6.72%, 2.83% and 2.25%, respectively. The correlation analysis without and with time lag showed that Culex mosquito abundance at a lag of 0 or 1 month was positively correlated with JE incidence during 2008–2012, Ae. albopictus abundance at a lag of 1 month was positively correlated with DF incidence in 2009, and An. sinensis abundance at a lag of 0–2 months was positively correlated with malaria incidence during 2008–2010. The Poisson regression analysis showed each 0.1 rise of monthly mosquito abundance corresponded to a positive increase of MBD cases for the period of 2008–2012. The rise of mosquito abundance with a lag of 0–2 months increased the risk of human MBDs infection in Zhejiang. Our study provides evidence that mosquito monitoring could be a useful early warning tool for the occurrence and transmission of MBDs.
Word Length and Visual-Noise Texture in Backward Masking:

Visual-noise masks composed of randomly scattered letter fragments disrupt the recognition of briefly viewed letter arrays when the masks are presented immediately after these arrays. According to the feature-similarity assumption, maximal disruption should occur when the target letters and the letter fragments comprising the mask share a common stroke width. This assumption was disconfirmed in the present experiment. Two-, four-, and six-letter arrays, whose stroke width subtended a visual angle of 3·8′, were viewed tachistoscopically in conjunction with visual-noise masks whose letter fragments subtended visual angles of 1·2′, 1·9′, 3·8′, 6·6′, or 9·7′. The most effective mask for all three letter-array lengths was the one composed of letter fragments subtending 6·6′. The results, together with those of previous experiments, are accounted for in terms of a neural line-detecting mechanism.
Effects of Intrastriatal Cannabinoids on Rotational Behavior in Rats: Interactions With the Dopaminergic System

The effect of unilateral intrastriatal cannabinoid receptor stimulation on rotational behavior in rats was explored. The potent cannabinoid agonist CP 55,940 (5 microg/0.5 microl) induced contralateral turning when microinjected unilaterally into the striatum. The D2 dopamine agonist quinpirole reversed this contralateral rotation but failed to affect motor behavior on its own. Finally, the D1 dopamine agonist SKF 82958 inhibited movement when administered into the striatum and this inhibition was reversed by co-administration of the cannabinoid agonist. Surprisingly, microinjections of the cannabinoid agonist into the striatum induced movement through activation of the striatonigral pathway and/or inhibition of the striatopallidal pathway, while the D1 dopamine agonist produced the opposite effect.
Substrate-impurities effects on GaAs MESFETs

The effects of background impurities in LEC and HB-grown, doped and undoped GaAs substrates on electron-concentration profiles and ion-implanted MESFET threshold voltages are modeled. For realizing the most steeply falling channel electron profiles, high concentrations of either deep or shallow acceptors are required. When background acceptor impurities are absent, the electron profiles follow the slowly falling ion-implant profiles, which are strongly influenced by ion channeling. The use of buriedp layers to give steeply falling profiles, and to reduce the dependence of MESFET threshold voltages on fluctuating acceptor impurities in GaAs is proposed.
Reducing noise in the time-frequency representation using sparsity promoting kernel design

Missing samples in the time domain introduce noise-like artifacts in the ambiguity domain due to their de facto zero values assumed by the bilinear transform. These artifacts clutter the dual domain of the time-frequency signal representation and obscures the time-frequency signature of single and multicomponent signals. In order to suppress the artifacts influence, we formulate a problem based on the sparsity aware kernel. The proposed kernel design is more robust to the artifacts caused by the missing samples.
The effect of antiplatelet therapy on platelet accumulation after experimental angioplasty in the rabbit iliac model

Antiplatelet therapy is routinely used in balloon angioplasty. Yet recent clinical trials have not shown these agents to reduce the incidence of restenosis. As this might be due to inadequate antiplatelet effect, this study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of antiplatelet therapy in reducing platelet accumulation immediately after angioplasty. Sixty-six atherosclerotic rabbits underwent angioplasty of a focal (50-99%) iliac stenosis after pretreatment with an antiplatelet drug. The animals were randomly given aspirin (10 mg/kg orally) (n = 10), aspirin (10 mg/kg intravenously) (n = 7), aspirin (10 mg/kg per os) plus dipyridamole (25 mg orally) (n = 8), a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor (GS13080, 1 mg/kg/h intravenously) (n = 9) or heparin (500 U/kg intravenously) (n = 9). Platelet accumulation, determined by 51Cr-labeled platelet counts 30 min after angioplasty disclosed a significant reduction from control (44.1 +/- 51.2 platelets/cm x 10(6)) with intravenous aspirin (3.3 +/- 1.9; p less than 0.007) and the thromboxane synthetase inhibitor CGS13080 (15.1 +/- 16.6, p less than 0.04). Aspirin plus dipyridamole reduced platelet accumulation as well (10.4 +/- 9.8, p = 0.076), while oral aspirin (109.5 +/- 240) and heparin (34.7 +/- 35.5) were ineffective. The results of this study demonstrate that pretreatment with antiplatelet agents can reduce platelet accumulation significantly after experimental angioplasty. However, the wide variability in effectiveness particularly with oral aspirin may have important clinical implications. Further investigation into more effective antiplatelet therapy may help to reduce the incidence of abrupt vessel closure and restenosis.
Automatic compensation of AVO background drift

Anomalous AVO reflectors can be defined as those whose seismic amplitude varies with offset or incidence angle in a manner markedly different from the majority of nearby reflectors (known as the “background”). An increase or decrease of amplitude with offset is not anomalous if most other reflection amplitudes vary in similar proportion. Such would be the case if an overriding offset-gain function were applied to the gathers, either intentionally or inadvertently. AVO anomalies are of keen interest in exploration geophysics, since they are usually caused by abrupt changes in the Vp/Vs ratio across a reflection boundary, which are often associated with the presence of sandy reservoirs or hydrocarbons.
Frequency-encoded laser-induced fluorescence for multiplexed detection in infrared-mediated quantitative PCR

A frequency-modulated fluorescence encoding method was used as a means to increase the number of fluorophores monitored during infrared-mediated polymerase chain reaction. Laser lines at 488 nm and 561 nm were modulated at 73 and 137 Hz, respectively, exciting fluorescence from the dsDNA intercalating dye, EvaGreen, and the temperature insensitive dye, ROX. Emission was collected in a color-blind manner using a single photomultiplier tube for detection and demodulated by frequency analysis. The resulting frequency domain signal resolved the contribution from the two fluorophores as well as the background from the IR lamp. The detection method was successfully used to measure amplification of DNA samples containing 104–107 starting copies of template producing an amplification efficiency of 96%. The utility of this methodology was further demonstrated by simultaneous amplification of two genes from human genomic DNA using different color TaqMan probes. This method of multiplexing fluorescence detection with IR-qPCR is ideally suited as it allows isolation of the signals of interest from the background in the frequency domain and is expected to further reduce the complexity of multiplexed microfluidic IR-qPCR instrumentation.
The formation of polarographically reducible substances in autoxidizing lard

In a polarographic study of lard during the early stages of autoxidation at 55° and 100°C. three reduction potentials were observed, and curves were plotted from the diffusion current values at the corresponding half-wave potential to show the changes in concentration of each of the reducible substances with time. All three curves followed the general pattern of the peroxide value, determined titrimetrically. However Curve A (E 1/2=−0.15 v.) reached a maximum much earlier than either Curve B (E 1/2=−0.68 v.) or Curve C (E 1/2=−1.10 v.). Pro-oxidants steepened the curves; antioxidants introduced a lag phase. Although the relative heights shifted somewhat, three curves persisted under all conditions. It is concluded that autoxidizing lard contains at least three types of primary “peroxidic” compounds and that these are not changed qualitatively by the presence of prooxidants and antioxidants.
A review of the submerged-root concept

The purpose of this article was to review and summarize the literature on the retention of submerged roots. It appears that the submerged-root procedures may have an accepted place alongside conventional overdenture techniques in the profession's continuing effort to retard alveolar bone resorption in the field of prosthodontics.
Visual exploration of large relational data sets through 3D projections and footprint splatting

This paper discusses 3D visualization and interactive exploration of large relational data sets through the integration of several well-chosen multidimensional data visualization techniques and for the purpose of visual data mining and exploratory data analysis. The basic idea is to combine the techniques of grand tour, direct volume rendering, and data aggregation in databases to deal with both the high dimensionality of data and a large number of relational records. Each technique has been enhanced or modified for this application. Specifically, positions of data clusters are used to decide the path of a grand tour. This cluster-guided tour makes intercluster-distance-preserving projections in which data clusters are displayed as separate as possible. A tetrahedral mapping method applied to cluster centroids helps in choosing interesting cluster-guided projections. Multidimensional footprint splatting is used to directly render large relational data sets. This approach abandons the rendering techniques that enhance 3D realism and focuses on how to efficiently produce real-time explanatory images that give comprehensive insights into global features such as data clusters and holes. Examples are given where the techniques are applied to large (more than a million records) relational data sets.
Genetic parameters of estimated net energy efficiencies for milk production, maintenance, and body weight change in dairy cows.

Abstract Net efficiencies of converting intake energy into energy for maintenance, milk production, and body weight change in a lactation were estimated for each of 79 Holstein cows by a two-stage multiple regression model. Cows were from 16 paternal half-sib families, which each had members in at least two of the six herds. Each cow was recorded for milk yield, net energy intake, and the three efficiency traits. These traits were analyzed in a multitrait model containing the same 14 fixed subclasses of herd by season by parity and a random factor of sires for each of the five traits. Restricted maximum likelihood estimates of sire and residual (co)variance components were obtained by an expectation maximization algorithm with canonical transformations. Between milk yield and net energy intake, net energy efficiencies for milk yield, maintenance, and body weight change, the estimated phenotypic correlations were .36, −.02, .08, and −.06, while the genetic correlations were .92, .56, .02, and −.32, respectively. Both genetic and phenotypic correlations were zero between net energy efficiency of maintenance and that of milk yield and .17 between net energy efficiency of body weight change and that of milk yield. The estimated genetic correlation between net efficiency for lactation and milk yield is approximately 60% of that between gross efficiency and milk yield. With a heritability of .32∼.49, net energy efficiency for milk yield may be worth consideration for genetic selection in certain dairy cattle populations.
Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Modeling of Homogeneous Condensation in Supersonic Plumes

A particle simulation method to model water condensation process in a supersonic rocket plume is proposed and developed. Classic nucleation theory is used to predict nucleation, condensation, and the evaporation rates for water clusters. Microscopic kinetic models are developed to simulate collision processes between water clusters and monomers, between water clusters and foreign molecules, and evaporation of monomers from water clusters. These models are integrated into the direct simulation Monte Carlo method to simulate an axisymmetric multispecies gas expansion coupled with condensation. The developed computational scheme, first verified by empirical scaling laws of condensation in supersonic microjets, is then applied to predict the spatial distributions of water cluster number density, size, and temperature in a rocket exhaust plume. An empirical equation is used to correct classical nucleation rate, condensation results are compared between the original and corrected nucleation rate, and the impact of the nucleation rate on a flow with condensation is discussed in detail.
Immunolocalization of GLUT-1 glucose transporter in rat skeletal muscle and in normal and hypoxic cardiac tissue

We compared the expression and cell-type localization of GLUT-1 mRNA and protein between cardiac and skeletal muscle of normal rats. Also, since we recently showed that cardiac GLUT-1 is upregulated in rats exposed to hypobaric hypoxia, we examined the cellular localization of GLUT-1 in cardiac tissue of normal and hypoxic rats. Confocal light microscopy and double immunofluorescent labeling revealed intense localization of GLUT-1 around neurofilament immunoreactivity within gastrocnemius muscle consistent with the previously described localization of large amounts of GLUT-1 in perineurial sheaths of skeletal muscle. However, using the same methods, we were unable to visualize GLUT-1 adjacent to nerve fibers in numerous sections of right or left ventricles or atria. Compared with skeletal myoctes, however, GLUT-1 immunofluorescence among cardiomyocytes was much more intense, particularly along the plasma membrane and especially intercalated discs. GLUT-1 immunofluorescence was also seen within the walls of arterioles within the heart. The predominant localization of GLUT-1 expression to cardiomyocytes in heart tissue was confirmed by in situ mRNA hybridization to digoxigenin-conjugated GLUT-1 cDNA. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that GLUT-1 mRNA was increased severalfold in the cardiac tissues compared with skeletal muscle. Although we detected GLUT-1 protein by immunoblotting of detergent extracts of the heart, we could not detect GLUT-1 in similar extracts of skeletal muscle. The cell type distribution of GLUT-1 in hearts of hypoxic rats was not different by immunohistochemistry from normals. These data indicate that 1) the cell-type distribution of GLUT-1 in the heart differs markedly from that in skeletal muscle. GLUT-1 in cardiac tissue, unlike skeletal muscle, is predominantly expressed within myocytes. 2) Cardiac GLUT-1 is not located along nerve fibers. 3) GLUT-1 mRNA and protein levels in cardiac tissue are considerably greater than in skeletal muscle. 4) The hypoxia-induced increase in cardiac GLUT-1 that we previously reported must occur within cardiomyocytes.
Wiener–Hammerstein Model Based Electrical Equalizer for Optical Communication Systems

Nonlinear distortion caused by fiber nonlinearity is a major performance-limiting factor in advanced optical communication systems. We proposed a nonlinear electrical equalization scheme based on the Wiener-Hammerstein model. Compared with other popular nonlinear compensation techniques such as the Volterra model, the Wiener-Hammerstein model approach has a simpler structure and requires less calculation. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the capability of a Wiener-Hammerstein model based electrical equalizer used in a coherent optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system. It is shown that the Wiener-Hammerstein model based equalizer can significantly reduce nonlinear distortion and can deliver a performance comparable to the Volterra model based equalizer.
Coach John Wooden's Pyramid of Success: A Comparison to the Sport Psychology Literature

Coach John Wooden defined success as "peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." He elaborated on this definition by creating the Pyramid of Success, a diagram of 15 attitudes and values demonstrating how an athlete can achieve success. The connections between the blocks of the Pyramid have yet to be studied empirically, and/or explicitly linked to existing research in psychology literature. The current theoretical study reviews these connections in an attempt to find support for Wooden's definition of success. Past research related to the remainder of the links between the Pyramid's building blocks is explored, in large part suggesting support for Coach Wooden's theory.
The performance of tests when observations have different variances

It is common to test if there is an effect due to a treatment. The commonly used tests have the assumption that the observations differ in location, and that their variances are the same over the groups. Different variances can arise if the observations being analyzed are means of different numbers of observations on individuals or slopes of growth curves with missing data. This study is concerned with cases in which the unequal variances are known, or known to a constant of proportionality. It examines the performance of the ttest, the Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon Rank Sum test, the Median test, and the Van der Waerden test under these conditions. The t-test based on the weighted means is the likelihood ratio test under normality and has the usual optimality properties. The other tests are compared to it. One may align and scale the observations by subtracting the mean and dividing by the standard deviation of each point. This leads to other, analogous test statistics based on these adjusted observations. These...
Temperature dependent near UV molar absorptivities of several small aldehydes in aqueous solution

Abstract Temperature-dependent molar absorptivities are reported for benzaldehyde, acrolein, isobutyraldehyde, pentanal, and hexanal in aqueous solution. With the exception of acrolein, molar absorptivities are given at eight temperatures in the range 6.5–69.5°C for wavelengths greater than 200 nm, a spectral resolution of 2.0 nm, and a spacing of 2.5 nm. For acrolein, data are given over a more limited range of temperatures and wavelengths. For benzaldehyde and acrolein, no hydration occurs, as expected, and only small changes in the shape and intensity of the spectrum with temperature are observed. For the other three aldehydes, the hydration reaction RCHO + H 2 O ⇄ RCH(OH) 2 ; K hyd =[ RCH(OH) 2 ]/[ RCHO ] is the major source for the observed change in intensity with temperature. Based on these changes, the following thermodynamic parameters are obtained for the hydration reaction at T = 25°C: isobutyraldehyde, Khyd = 0.51 ± 0.06, ΔH = − 26.8 ± 1.9 kJ mol−1, ΔS = − 95 ± 7 J mol−1 K−1; pentanal, Khyd = 0.55 ± 0.05, ΔH = − 24.6 ± 1.6 kJ mol−1, ΔS = − 87 ± 8 J mol−1 K−1; hexanal, Khyd = 0.49 ± 0.05, ΔH = − 25.3 ± 2.2 kJ mol−1, ΔS = − 91 ± 8 J mol−1 K−1. The present results are compared to data obtained previously for smaller aliphatic aldehydes, and the implications of the results for aqueous phase atmospheric chemistry are discussed.
Hierarchical Global Floorplacement Using Simulated Annealing and Network Flow Area Migration

Floorplanning large designs with many hard macros and IP blocks of various sizes is becoming an increasingly important and challenging problem. This paper presents a global floorplacement method that combines a hierarchical simulated annealing floorplanning method with a partitioning-based global placement technique. A novel area migration method, formulated as a min-cost, max-flow network flow problem, is used to improve area utilization, and provide a communication mechanism between the partitioning engine and the placement method for better design quality. The network flow area migration method can be used in managing incremental changes in the design as well. Our global placement wire length is 12% better than the detailed placement wire length of a previous work, while our global placement is almost 8 times faster than their global placement.
The chicken or the egg: PHEX, FGF23 and SIBLINGs unscrambled

The eggshell is an ancient innovation that helped the vertebrates' transition from the oceans and gain dominion over the land. Coincident with this conquest, several new eggshell and noncollagenous bone-matrix proteins (NCPs) emerged. The protein ovocleidin-116 is one of these proteins with an ancestry stretching back to the Triassic. Ovocleidin-116 is an avian homolog of Matrix Extracellular Phosphoglycoprotein (MEPE) and belongs to a group of proteins called Small Integrin-Binding Ligand Interacting Glycoproteins (SIBLINGs). The genes for these NCPs are all clustered on chromosome 5q in mice and chromosome 4q in humans. A unifying feature of the SIBLING proteins is an Acidic Serine Aspartate-Rich MEPE (ASARM)-associated motif. The ASARM motif and the released ASARM peptide play roles in mineralization, bone turnover, mechanotransduction, phosphate regulation and energy metabolism. ASARM peptides and motifs are physiological substrates for phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidases on the X chromosome (PHEX), a Zn metalloendopeptidase. Defects in PHEX are responsible for X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets. PHEX interacts with another ASARM motif containing SIBLING protein, Dentin Matrix Protein-1 (DMP1). DMP1 mutations cause bone-renal defects that are identical with the defects caused by loss of PHEX function. This results in autosomal recessive hypophosphatemic rickets (ARHR). In both X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets and ARHR, increased fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) expression occurs, and activating mutations in FGF23 cause autosomal dominant hypophosphatemic rickets (ADHR). ASARM peptide administration in vitro and in vivo also induces increased FGF23 expression. This review will discuss the evidence for a new integrative pathway involved in bone formation, bone-renal mineralization, renal phosphate homeostasis and energy metabolism in disease and health.
The use of the simplex method to characterize dry cellulose acetate membranes for gas separations

The normal and log-normal distributions are used to describe the pore size distribution of dry asymmetric cellulose acetate membranes for CO2/CH4 separations. Various optimization techniques are implemented to determine the distribution parameters R and σ as well as the constants A1, and A2, related to pore structure and surface transport. respectively. By using the Simplex method, a unique solution for the characterization parameters is easily obtained irrespective of the starting search point. The permeation data of helium was used to characterize the membranes and determine the flow parameters which can be used to predict the performance of those membranes in separating CO2/CH4 mixtures. Des distributions normales et normales-logarithmiques sont utilisees pour decrire la distribution de tailles des pores de membranes d'acetate de cellulose asymetriques seches pour les separatiorns de CO2/CH4. Diffkrentes techniques d'op-timisation sont appliquees pour determiner les parametres de distribution R et σ ainsi que les constantes A1, et A2 reliees a la structure des pores et au transport de surface, respectivement. A l'aide d'une methode Simplex, on peut facilement obtenir une solution unique pour les parametres de caracterisation independamment du point de depart dans la recherche. Les donnees de permeation de l'helium ont ete utilisees pour caracteriser les membranes et determiner les parametres de debits pouvant servir dans la prediction de la performance de ces membranes en separant des melanges de CO2/CH4.
Lymphoid Malignancies in U.S. Asians: Incidence Rate Differences by Birthplace and Acculturation

Background: Malignancies of the lymphoid cells, including non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), HL, and multiple myeloma, occur at much lower rates in Asians than other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. It remains unclear whether these deficits are explained by genetic or environmental factors. To better understand environmental contributions, we examined incidence patterns of lymphoid malignancies among populations characterized by ethnicity, birthplace, and residential neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnic enclave status. Methods: We obtained data about all Asian patients diagnosed with lymphoid malignancies between 1988 and 2004 from the California Cancer Registry and neighborhood characteristics from U.S. Census data. Results: Although incidence rates of most lymphoid malignancies were lower among Asian than white populations, only follicular lymphoma (FL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL), and nodular sclerosis (NS) HL rates were statistically significantly lower among foreign-born than U.S.-born Asians with incidence rate ratios ranging from 0.34 to 0.87. Rates of CLL/SLL and NS HL were also lower among Asian women living in ethnic enclaves or lower SES neighborhoods than those living elsewhere. Conclusions: These observations support strong roles of environmental factors in the causation of FL, CLL/SLL, and NS HL. Impact: Studying specific lymphoid malignancies in U.S. Asians may provide valuable insight toward understanding their environmental causes. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(6); 1064–77. ©2011 AACR . This article is featured in Highlights of This Issue, [p. 1057][1] [1]: /lookup/volpage/20/1057?iss=6
Query processing techniques for multimedia presentation graphs

Multimedia presentations are stored into and queried from multimedia databases. In an earlier work, we have designed a graphical query language, called GVISUAL, that allows users to query multimedia presentations based on content information. In this paper, we discuss GVISUAL query processing techniques for multimedia presentations. More specifically, we discuss the translation of GVISUAL queries into an operator-based language, called O-Algebra, with three new operators, and efficient implementations of the new O-Algebra operators using a coding system called the nodecode system.
Nonlinear Sparse-Graph Codes for Lossy Compression

We propose a scheme for lossy compression of discrete memoryless sources: The compressor is the decoder of a nonlinear channel code, constructed from a sparse graph. We prove asymptotic optimality of the scheme for any separable (letter-by-letter) bounded distortion criterion. We also present a suboptimal compression algorithm, which exhibits near-optimal performance for moderate block lengths.
Race/ethnicity and socio-economic differences in breast cancer surgery outcomes.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to evaluate racial and socio-economic differences in breast cancer surgery treatment, post-surgical complications, hospital length of stay and mortality among hospitalized breast cancer patients. Methods We examined the association between race/ethnicity and socio-economic status with treatment and outcomes after surgery among 71,156 women hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of breast cancer using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from 2007 to 2011. Multivariable regression models were used to compute estimates, odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals adjusting for age, comorbidities, stage at diagnosis, insurance, and residential region. Results Black women were more likely to receive breast conserving surgery but less likely to receive mastectomies compared with white women. They also experienced significantly longer hospital stays (β = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.39), post-surgical complications (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.04–1.42) and in-hospital mortality (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.07–1.50) compared with Whites, after adjusting for other factors including the number of comorbidities and treatment type. Conclusion Among patients hospitalized for breast cancer, there were racial differences observed in treatment and outcomes. Further studies are needed to fully characterize whether these differences are due to individual, provider level or hospital level factors, and to highlight areas for targeted approaches to eliminate these disparities.
Assessing the Deployment of Home Visiting: Learning from a State-Wide Survey of Home Visiting Programs

Objectives Large-scale planning for health and human services programming is required to inform effective public policy as well as deliver services to meet community needs. The present study demonstrates the value of collecting data directly from deliverers of home visiting programs across a state. This study was conducted in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires states to conduct a needs assessment of home visiting programs for pregnant women and young children to receive federal funding. In this paper, we provide a descriptive analysis of a needs assessment of home visiting programs in Ohio. Methods All programs in the state that met the federal definition of home visiting were included in this study. Program staff completed a web-based survey with open- and close-ended questions covering program management, content, goals, and characteristics of the families served. Results Consistent with the research literature, program representatives reported great diversity with regard to program management, reach, eligibility, goals, content, and services delivered, yet consistently conveyed great need for home visiting services across the state. Conclusions Results demonstrate quantitative and qualitative assessments of need have direct implications for public policy. Given the lack of consistency highlighted in Ohio, other states are encouraged to conduct a similar needs assessment to facilitate cross-program and cross-state comparisons. Data could be used to outline a capacity-building and technical assistance agenda to ensure states can effectively meet the need for home visiting in their state.
Essays on firm location decisions, regional development and choices under risk

My dissertation consists of four papers. The first two papers study regional economic development. In particular, they focus on broadband Internet and agglomeration economies in rural areas. One paper tests whether broadband improves rural economy and find positive broadband effects on new firm location choices. The other paper explores whether agglomeration economies operate even in rural areas and find that agglomeration economies are important for new firm location choices and commuting decisions. Those findings from the two papers have useful implications to regional economic development policies.My two other papers study choices under risk. One paper focuses on risk elicitation methods with a multiple price list format, which is widely used in the literature. The paper compares subjectsâ€™ choices between the elicitation method and one question selected from the method. The paper finds significant differences in the comparison and show that the differences occur due to reference-dependent preferences. Those results suggest that the elicitation method is not reliable because loss aversion influences elicited risk aversion. The other paper tests whether pre-play learning removes inconsistent preference rankings between choice and pricing for lotteries. Inconsistent preference rankings have been studied last four decades because standard economic theory cannot explain inconsistent preference rankings. Pre-play learning is simple ex-ante lottery learning, where subjects observe playing lotteries before they make decisions. The paper finds that pre-play learning removes inconsistent preference rankings, which suggests that pre-play learning makes preference rankings consistent between choice and pricing as predicted in standard economic theory. Those results from the two papers have meaningful implications to the literature.
Pawns or power players: the grounds on which adults dismiss or defend youth organizers in the USA

ABSTRACTOver the last two decades, youth organizing has emerged as an important strategy for social change, particularly within education policy; however, the ability of youth to influence policy is limited by the tendency of adults in positions of power to find reasons to distrust, discredit, or otherwise ignore them. This paper draws on interviews with 31 adult civic leaders in one American city to discern their views on a particular youth organizing group, Philadelphia Student Union (PSU), and to uncover the grounds on which they either dismiss or defend its work. Findings show that the tendency to doubt or deny the voices of youth organizers is not concentrated within any one institutional setting; that the most common reason for doubting or distrusting SFE's work is the belief that adult organizers manipulate the youth members; and that every reason adults offer to dismiss the youth organizers can be matched by a different reason other adults give to defend them, their work, and their place in the po...
Identifying Clinically Significant Prostate Cancers using 3-D In Vivo Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging with Whole-Mount Histology Validation.

Overly aggressive prostate cancer (PCa) treatment adversely affects patients and places an unnecessary burden on our health care system. The inability to identify and grade clinically significant PCa lesions is a factor contributing to excessively aggressive PCa treatment, such as radical prostatectomy, instead of more focal, prostate-sparing procedures such as cryotherapy and high-dose radiation therapy. We have performed 3-D in vivo B-mode and acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging using a mechanically rotated, side-fire endorectal imaging array to identify regions suspicious for PCa in 29 patients being treated with radical prostatectomies for biopsy-confirmed PCa. Whole-mount histopathology analyses were performed to identify regions of clinically significant/insignificant PCa lesions, atrophy and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Regions of suspicion for PCa were reader-identified in ARFI images based on boundary delineation, contrast, texture and location. These regions of suspicion were compared with histopathology identified lesions using a nearest-neighbor regional localization approach. Of all clinically significant lesions identified on histopathology, 71.4% were also identified using ARFI imaging, including 79.3% of posterior and 33.3% of anterior lesions. Among the ARFI-identified lesions, 79.3% corresponded to clinically significant PCa lesions, with these lesions having higher indices of suspicion than clinically insignificant PCa. ARFI imaging had greater sensitivity for posterior versus anterior lesions because of greater displacement signal-to-noise ratio and finer spatial sampling. Atrophy and benign prostatic hyperplasia can cause appreciable prostate anatomy distortion and heterogeneity that confounds ARFI PCa lesion identification; however, in general, ARFI regions of suspicion did not coincide with these benign pathologies.
Biology of Corimelaena extensa on tree tobacco, Nicotiana glauca.

The biology of Corimelaena extensa Uhler (Heteroptera: Thyreocoridae) was studied in the field in southern California and in the insectary at 25.5°C, 50 to 60% relative humidity (RH), 14:10-h (L:D) photoperiod. The egg and nymphs are described. The eggs were laid singly within, or less frequently, on the outer surface of the mature open seed capsules of tree tobacco, Nicotiana glauca Graham (Solanaceae). The incubation period under insectary conditions averaged 8.3 ± 0.7 (±SE) day. The first to fifth nymphal stadia averaged 6.6 ;± 0.8, 5.3 ± 1.5, 4.1 ± 1.2, 4.8 ± 1.4, and 6.7 ± 3.3 days, respectively. The mean longevity of adult males was 39.7 ± 14.5 days; of fecund adult females, 34.2 ± 15.5 days. Nymphs fed mainly on the flower corollas and immature fruit, but failed to develop on leaves alone or on mature capsules containing seeds. Adults fed on the peduncles and petioles. Feeding occurred several times daily throughout the photophase and scotophase. The sex ratio was 1:1. Mating usually occurred in the early morning and late evening. The premating period of females was 3 days. All females mated by their eighth day as adults. Copulation averaged 12 ± 5 sec. A single mating sufficed to fertilize all of a female's eggs. The female had a mean preovipositional period of 8.0 ± 2.1 days and laid an average of 38.9 ± 35.0 eggs throughout her lifetime, but did not oviposit every day. Oviposition did not occur in the dark.
Quantum criticality in your car bumper

Over the past few years, condensed-matter physicists have become fascinated by the phenomenon of quantum phase transitions. We know that new forms of order develop within a material by way of phase transitions and that they can drastically change its properties. Classical examples such as superconductivity and magnetism occur at finite temperatures, but when the phase-transition temperature is suppressed to near absolute zero, quantum effects become important. Recent experiments in the UK and US have shown that these weird states of "quantum criticality" can be achieved in that most common of materials – chromium.
A best-estimate paradigm for diagnosis of multiple failure transients in nuclear power plants using artificial intelligence

A paradigm for best-estimate diagnosis of reactor transients has been developed. The theoretical approach is based on a modified assumption-based truth maintenance system (ATMS). By incorporating a...
Field induced changes in the ring/chain equilibrium of hydrogen bonded structures: 5-methyl-3-heptanol

Using non-linear dielectric techniques, we have measured the dynamics of 5-methyl-3-heptanol at a temperature at which the Kirkwood correlation factor gK indicates the coexistence of ring- and chain-like hydrogen-bonded structures. Steady state permittivity spectra recorded in the presence of a high dc bias electric field (17 MV/m) reveal that both the amplitude and the time constant are increased by about 10% relative to the low field limit. This change is attributed to the field driven conversion from ring-like to the more polar chain-like structures, and a direct observation of its time dependence shows that the ring/chain structural transition occurs on a time scale that closely matches that of the dielectric Debye peak. This lends strong support to the picture that places fluctuations of the end-to-end vector of hydrogen bonded structures at the origin of the Debye process, equivalent to fluctuations of the net dipole moment or gK. Recognizing that changes in the ring/chain equilibrium constant also impact the spectral separation between Debye and α-process may explain the difference in their temperature dependence whenever gK is sensitive to temperature, i.e., when the structural motifs of hydrogen bonding change considerably.