cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adherence to the AAN ALS Quality Measures for OEF/OIF Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (P2.058)

Objective: To evaluate the adherence with the AAN ALS Quality Measures in military veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom(OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom(OIF) diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and receiving care in the VA healthcare system(VAHCS). Additionally, we aim to develop a tool to enable extraction of this data from the VA electronic medical record system. Background: An increased risk of ALS among veterans was confirmed by the Institute of Medicine in 2006. In September 2008, a presumption of service connection was granted to all veterans with ALS. In 2012, AAN quality of care measures for ALS were published to evaluate and improve care of ALS patients. An assessment of the current delivery of care in the VA would facilitate the development of a national system of care for veterans with ALS. Design/ Methods: OEF/OIF veterans receiving care in the VACHS were identified using previously described criteria validated by the CDC. Compliance with AAN quality measures will be determined by data extraction from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse as well as manual chart review. Results : A total of 118 patients from 72 facilities have been identified in the cohort with a diagnosis of ALS(ICD-9 335.20). The presentation will include an overview of the eleven AAN quality measures and percentage of veterans who are compliant with each measure. Challenges to data extraction will be identified as will areas for improvement of adherence. A chart abstraction tool will be developed for use in future studies. Conclusions: We anticipate wide variation in adherence to the ALS quality measures. Factors contributing to variation will be explored. We expect this pilot study to lead to the development of a chart abstraction tool for use in a national study of care of veterans with ALS. Study Supported by: VA PRIME Center Locally Initiated Project Disclosure: Dr. Michael has nothing to disclose. Dr. Brandt has nothing to disclose. Dr. Miller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Patwa has nothing to disclose.
Pasos Adelante: the effectiveness of a community-based chronic disease prevention program.

Background Implementing programs that target primary prevention of chronic diseases is critical for at-risk populations. Pasos Adelante, or "Steps Forward," is a curriculum aimed at preventing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases in Hispanic populations. Pasos Adelante is adapted from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's cardiovascular disease prevention curriculum, Su Corazon, Su Vida, and includes sessions on diabetes and community advocacy and incorporates walking clubs. Context The Pasos Adelante curriculum was implemented in two Arizona, United States-Sonora, Mexico border counties. Key issues in these communities are safety, access to recreational facilities, climate, and cultural beliefs. Methods Pasos Adelante is a 12-week program facilitated by community health workers. The program includes interactive sessions on chronic disease prevention, nutrition, and physical activity. Evaluation of the program included precurriculum and postcurriculum questionnaires with self-reported measures of physical activity and dietary patterns. Approximately 250 people participated in the program in Yuma and Santa Cruz counties. Consequences Postprogram evaluation results demonstrate a significant increase in moderate to vigorous walking among participants and shifts in nutritional patterns. Interpretation The Pasos Adelante program demonstrates that an educational curriculum in conjunction with the support of community health workers can motivate people in Arizona/Sonora border communities to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Multiple access interference (MAI) noise reduction in a 2D optical CDMA system using ultrafast optical thresholding

We demonstrate the reduction of MAI noise due to multiple simultaneous users in a 2D OCDMA system using optical thresholding. The system shows improved performance by reducing the power penalty increase when adding more users.
The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By

There are far more entrepreneurs than most people realize. But the failure rate of new businesses is disappointingly high, and the economic impact of most of them disappointingly low, suggesting that enthusiastic would-be entrepreneurs and their investors all too often operate under a false set of assumptions. This book shows that the reality of entrepreneurship is decidedly different from the myths that have come to surround it. Scott Shane, a leading expert in entrepreneurial activity in the United States and other countries, draws on the data from extensive research to provide accurate, useful information about who becomes an entrepreneur and why, how businesses are started, which factors lead to success, and which predict a likely failure. The Illusions of Entrepreneurship is an essential resource for everyone who has dreamed of starting a new business, for investors in start-ups, for policy makers attempting to facilitate the formation and survival of new businesses, and for researchers interested in the economic impact of entrepreneurial activity. Scott Shane offers research-based answers to these questions and many others: * Why do people start businesses? * What industries are popular for start-ups? * How many jobs do new businesses create? * How do entrepreneurs finance their start-ups? * What makes some locations and some countries more entrepreneurial than others? * What are the characteristics of the typical entrepreneur? * How well does the typical start-up perform? * What strategies contribute to the survival and profitability of new businesses over time?
Isolation of Endothelial Cells from Mouse Lung

The isolation of endothelial cells (ECs) from knockout and transgenic mouse lines provides the opportunity to study the endothelial-specific activities of a targeted molecule. As a means of pursuing these types of investigations, the protocols described in this unit provide a reliable method for isolating lung microvascular ECs from mouse neonatal pups that can be serially passaged. These protocols are useful in settings where mouse age is irrelevant and a pure population of pulmonary vascular ECs, uncontaminated by other cells, is needed. When a specific source of ECs is not required, these procedures also represent a reliable means of obtaining murine ECs in general.
Antenna boresight parameter estimation

A boresight-cali bration test is devised based upon the functional dependence of signalstrength measurements upon the antenna pointing relative to the direction to a ground-based transmitter. Algorithms are herein developed for the estimation of the antenna-boresight orientation relative to the spacecraft-attitude reference axes, the antenna beamwidths, and the boresight signal strength. Expressions for the expected error in the boresight parameter estimation are stated. Results of a computer simulation of the estimation process are included; they agree with the theoretically expected performance. Formulas are included for the transformation of attitude and orbital parameters to determine the antenna-pointing direction. Nomenclature a = semi-major axis of spacecraft orbit b = unit vector along the antenna boresight e,i = orbital eccentricity, inclination K = Earth gravitational constant I = unit vector from spacecraft to ground-based transmitter fo = subsatellite longitude at T&
Evaluation of Platelet Activation Models With Dynamic Shear Stress In Vitro Experiments

Blood recirculating devices, which include ventricular assist devices and prosthetic heart valves, are necessary for some patients suffering from end-stage heart failure and valvular diseases. However, disturbed flow patterns in these devices cause shear-induced platelet activation and aggregation. Thromboembolic complications resulting from this platelet behavior necessitates lifelong anticoagulant therapy for patients implanted with such devices. In addition, blood recirculating device manufacturers mostly test and optimize their products for hemolysis, which occurs at shear stresses ten-fold higher than required for platelet activation. The relative paucity of optimization for flow-induced thrombogenicity is further exacerbated by the fact that there are few predictive shear-induced platelet activation models.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Induction of Sp1-p53 DNA-binding heterocomplexes during granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor-dependent proliferation in human erythroleukemia cell line TF-1

The involvement of Sp1 in regulating cell proliferation in myeloid leukemia cells was determined by measuring the levels and DNA binding activity of Sp1 in TF-1 cells, a human erythroleukemia cell line dependent on granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for viability and cell growth. DNA binding of Sp1 to a specific double-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide was increased markedly in a dose-dependent manner in proliferating cells in response to GM-CSF compared with growth-arrested or apoptotic cells. Competition experiments and mobility shift interference assays with antibodies against Sp1 as well as wild-type or mutant p53 indicated that GM-CSF-inducible DNA-binding complexes contained both Sp1 and p53 and that these heterocomplexes bound to both p53- and Sp1-binding sequences with high affinity. Immunoprecipitation of nuclear extracts with a p53 antibody indicated that Sp1 was associated as a heterocomplex with p53. Formation of this complex was dependent on the level of p53 since p53 was more abundant in proliferating cells and decreased upon induction of growth arrest and apoptosis by withdrawal of GM-CSF while Sp1 levels remained unchanged. These results suggest that the association of Sp1 with p53 may represent a novel mechanism of growth regulation in cytokine-dependent leukemia cells.
Efficient Leakage-free Authentication of Trees, Graphs and Forests.

Leakage-free authentication of trees and graphs have been studied in the literature. Such schemes have several practical applications especially in the cloud computing area. In this paper, we propose an authentication scheme that computes only one signature (optimal). Our scheme is not only super-efficient in the number of signatures it computes and in its runtime, but also is highly versatile – it can be applied not only to trees, but also to graphs and forests (disconnected trees and graphs). While achieving such efficiency and versatility, we must also mention that our scheme achieves the desired security – leakage-free authentication of data objects represented as trees, graphs and forests. This is achieved by another novel scheme that we have proposed in this paper – a secure naming scheme for nodes of such data structures. Such a scheme assigns "secure names" to nodes such that these secure names can be used to verify the order between the nodes efficiently without leaking information about other nodes. As far as we know, our scheme is the first such scheme in literature that is optimal in its efficiency, supports two important security concerns – authenticity and leakage-free (privacy-preserving/confidentiality), and is versatile in its applicability as it is to trees, graphs as well as forests. We have carried out complexity as well as experimental analysis of this scheme that corroborates its performance.
Hypertension exacerbates coronary artery disease in transgenic hyperlipidemic Dahl salt-sensitive hypertensive rats.

The mechanisms underlying the known interaction of two complex polygenic traits, hypertension and hyperlipidemia, resulting in exacerbation of coronary artery disease have not been elucidated. Identification of critical pathways underlying said exacerbation could identify mechanism-based targets for intervention and prevention. To investigate hypertension-atherosclerosis interaction, we studied the inbred transgenic atherosclerosis-polygenic hypertension Dahl salt-sensitive (S) rat model (Tg53), which over-expresses human cholesteryl ester transfer protein (hCETP) in the liver, and exhibits coronary artery disease and decreased survival compared with control non-transgenic Dahl S rats. Using serial-section histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses, we analyzed the coronary artery disease phenotype of Tg53 rats at end-stage marked by cardio-respiratory compromise as the experimental equivalent of acute coronary syndromes, and determined the effects of reduction of blood pressure through low salt diet (0.008% NaCl) on the coronary artery disease phenotype and survival. End-stage Tg53 rats exhibit coronary artery lesions in the proximal right coronary artery system which exhibit “culprit plaque” features such as plaque inflammation, matrix degradation, apoptosis, neovascularization, thrombosis and hemorrhage recapitulating said features and heterogeneity of human coronary “culprit plaques”. Comparative analysis of 6 month vs end-stage lesions reveals distinct lesion development profiles of proximal coronary lesions which quickly progress from eccentric non-occlusive foam-cell rich lesions at 6 months to occlusive “culprit plaques”, compared with more distal coronary lesions which exhibit occlusive thick-cap atheroma that remain relatively unchanged from 6 months to end stage. Reduction of hypertension through a low-salt (0.008% NaCl) diet increased survival (P < 0.0001) of Tg53 rats and significantly attenuated the coronary artery disease phenotype detected at 10 months of age marked by diminished apoptosis, neovascularization, matrix degradation compared with end-stage lesions detected at <8 months of age. End stage coronary lesions in the Tg53 rats recapitulate many, albeit not all, features of “culprit plaques” in humans supporting proposed paradigms of plaque vulnerability implicating lesion macrophage enrichment, apoptosis, matrix degradation and pathological neovascularization. Comparative time course analysis of coronary lesions reveals that plaques which develop into end-stage “culprit plaques” are distinct from “stable plaques” by location and early lesion morphology, suggesting distinct lesion development and progression pathways. The significant effects of low-salt diet-induced decrease in hypertension on right coronary disease phenotype provides compelling evidence that polygenic hypertension accelerates coronary plaque progression and complication independent of cardiac hypertrophy, and more importantly provides paradigmatic support for public health policy.
Smalltalk-80: The Language and its Implementation

From the Preface (See Front Matter for full Preface) Advances in the design and production of computer hardware have brought many more people into direct contact with computers. Similar advances in the design and production of computer software are required in order that this increased contact be as rewarding as possible. The Smalltalk-80 system is a result of a decade of research into creating computer software that is appropriate for producing highly functional and interactive contact with personal computer systems. This book is the first detailed account of the Smalltalk-80 system. It is divided into four major parts: Part One -- an overview of the concepts and syntax of the programming language. Part Two -- an annotated and illustrated specification of the system's functionality. Part Three -- an example of the design and implementation of a moderate-size application. Part Four -- a specification of the Smalltalk-80 virtual machine.
The Atmosphere, the Oceans, Climate, and Ecosystem Services

Climate is perhaps most easily understood as the results of the atmosphere's and the oceans' combined efforts to redistribute heat from the Earth's equator to the poles. What happens at the atmosphere-ocean interface, therefore, is critical to climate, climate change, and the ecosystem services provided by every ecosystem on Earth. This chapter has been submitted for inclusion in William H. Rodgers' forthcoming 'Climate Change Reader'. It reviews the basic processes of the atmosphere and the oceans, emphasizing their roles in climate regulation and other ecosystem services and paying particular attention to atmospheric-oceanic interactions. It concludes with a summary of how changes in these interactions both contribute to climate change effects and disrupt ecosystems and their services worldwide.
A Typology of Rural Airports in the United States: Evaluating Network Accessibility

Since deregulation of the airline industry in 1978, carriers have largely focused their commercial service efforts on medium and large hub airports located in metropolitan areas with sufficient demand for air travel services. These profitable locations often cross-subsidize service to smaller hubs, which can function as feeder nodes/links to the larger hub-to-hub carrier network. However, as fuel and labor costs continue to increase for commercial carriers, reductions and terminations of air service in smaller rural markets are common, reducing carrier footprints and leaving many regions of the United States without viable air transport options. To be clear, this is not a new development. Many rural and remote airports are all too familiar with service reductions, which is why safeguards such as the Essential Air Service program continue to operate. The purpose of this paper is to explore the network and geographic context of airports in the U.S., evaluating relative accessibility and using this information to develop a typology of rural airports for the U.S. Implications for policy and transportation planning are discussed.
Epilepsy: Mechanisms of Drug Action and Clinical Treatment

Seizures can be caused by a wide range of brain disorders. Patients with two unprovoked seizures are considered to have epilepsy, and should receive antiepileptic drug treatment. The choice of drugs depends in part on diagnosis of the specific seizure syndrome, based on clinical, electroencephalographic, and neuroimaging data. Mechanisms of drugs action include modulation of voltage-dependent neuronal ion channels, enhancement of GABA-mediated inhibition, Inhibition of ionotropic glutamate receptor- mediated synaptic excitation, and modulation of glutamate release. Specific AED pharmacokinetics, particularly drug interactions, and toxicity, should be considered carefully in planning drug treatment. For patients with persistent seizures on optimal drug therapy, other options include diet, surgery, and brain stimulation. Keywords: epilepsy; seizures; GABA; glutamate; ion channels; antiepileptic drugs
Synthesis and characterization studies of γ-Al2O3 -supported, V-Zr mixed oxide catalysts prepared from OV(OEt)3 and Zr(OnBu)4

Steam reforming of hydrocarbons is one of the methods widely used to produce clean hydrogen for fuel cells. In previous studies in this group, a nickel-containing, V2Ox-ZrO2 co-grafted catalyst on γ-Al2O3, prepared from a solution of OV(OiPr)3 and Zr(OnBu)4 (precursor feed of 1 V nm−2:4 Zr nm−2) was found to generate significant turnover rates in the production of hydrogen from steam-reforming of alkanes and light alcohols. To investigate the influence of change in vanadium precursor ligand and other reaction conditions including time, temperature, concentration of co-grafting solution etc. on the surface optimization of these supported mixed oxides a compositional range of V2Ox-ZrO2 samples were synthesized using co-grafting solutions of OV(OEt)3 and Zr(OnBu)4. Temperature Programmed reduction (TPR) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) studies furnished further insight into the red-ox behavior of the catalysts under steam-reforming conditions. It was observed that a V5+/V4+ red-ox couple was involved in this catalytic process. Zirconium was observed to be present only in the +4 oxidation state irrespective of temperature and other reduction conditions. Based on this premise it was concluded that the refractory nature of the Zr4+ species on the surface was responsible in preventing the vanadyl groups from sintering at temperatures above 600 °C, thereby stabilizing the red-ox active species during the steam-reforming process.
Single turnover (STO) reaction procedure and the characterization of the active sites on supported metal catalysts

Abstract The results presented here show that the STO reaction sequence can provide surface characterization data for dispersed metal catalysts. With this procedure it is possible to identify and quantify five different types of sites on the catalyst surface. It appears that for most synthetically useful catalytic processes the most important of these sites are the three different kinds of STO saturation sites. As might be anticipated from mechanistic considerations these saturation sites are the more coordinatively unsaturated corner atoms or adatoms on the metal surface. These sites are considered to be surface complexes composed of the central active metal atom surrounded by its neighbouring metal atom “ligands”. Applying angular overlap calculations to the resulting species gives Frontier Molecular Orbital information for each type of surface site. These data are useful in developing more complete mechanistic understanding of the various types of surface reactions promoted by dispersed metal catalysts.
Contact angles at the solid—water interface

Abstract The study of polymer—water interfaces by contact angle methods can be accomplished directly at the polymer—water interface. Using two water-immiscible liquids or a liquid and a vapor, one can deduce the dispersion and polar components of the hydrated solid surface free energy and the solid—water interfacial free energy. The theory is presented and a numerical analysis procedure is developed to solve the equations in the general case. The special case of n -octane and air is also presented. Data and results are given for poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-methoxyethyl methacrylate) copolymers of varying composition and equilibrium water contents. The results show that the hydrophilic component dominates the polymer—water interfacial properties, even at relatively low hydrophilic component compositions. The method presented should be useful for the study of polymer—water interfaces, particularly for hydratable or mobile polymers which can reorient to equilibrate differently with a water environment than with the air or vapor environment commonly used in contact angle studies.
Organogold Reactivity with Palladium, Nickel, and Rhodium: Transmetalation, Cross-Coupling, and Dual Catalysis

Using two transition metals to simultaneously catalyze a reaction can offer distinct opportunities for reactivity and selectivity when compared to using single-metal catalyst systems. Creating dual transition metal catalytic systems is complicated, however, by challenges in predicting compatible reactivities and designing turnover pathways for both metals. In this Account, we describe our development of dual-metal catalysis reactions involving gold and a second transition metal.The unique rearrangement intermediates accessible through gold-only catalysis, which exploits the soft Lewis acidity of Au(I), make gold an attractive partner for dual-metal catalysis reactions. Because of the complexity of achieving simultaneous turnover of two catalysts and predicting compatibilities, our approach has been to first gain a fundamental understanding of the reactivity of the two metals with each other, both in stoichiometric and monocatalyzed reactions. To this end, we have investigated the combined reactivity of or...
Stimulation of thyrocalcitonin secretion by ethanol in patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma--an effect apparently not mediated by gastrin.

Abstract We have compared the effects of oral and intravenous ethanol on the secretion of both thyrocalcitonin and gastrin in five patients with medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. Ethanol caused a moderate rise in plasma thyrocalcitonin to 316% ± 343% of baseline when given intravenously and to 197% ± 106% of baseline when given orally. Only oral ethanol caused a measurable rise in serum gastrin levels. Serum calcium did not change significantly from baseline during either oral or intravenous administration. The results suggest that stimulation of thyrocalcitonin secretion by ethanol is not secondary to increased secretion of gastrin nor to the induction of hypercalcemia. Neither oral nor intravenous ethanol appears to be as effective as intravenous pentagastrin in testing for the presence of medullary carcinoma.
Development of reliable PCR-based markers linked to downy mildew resistance genes in lettuce

Sequence characterized amplified regions (SCARs) were derived from eight random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers linked to disease resistance genes in lettuce. SCARs are PCR-based markers that represent single, genetically defined loci that are identified by PCR amplification of genomic DNA with pairs of specific oligonucleotide primers; they may contain high-copy, dispersed genomic sequences within the amplified region. Amplified RAPD products were cloned and sequenced. The sequence was used to design 24-mer oligonucleotide primers for each end. All pairs of SCAR primers resulted in the amplification of single major bands the same size as the RAPD fragment cloned. Polymorphism was either retained as the presence or absence of amplification of the band or appeared as length polymorphisms that converted dominant RAPD loci into codominant SCAR markers. This study provided information on the molecular basis of RAPD markers. The amplified fragment contained no obvious repeated sequences beyond the primer sequence. Five out of eight pairs of SCAR primers amplified an alternate allele from both parents of the mapping population; therefore, the original RAPD polymorphism was likely due to mismatch at the primer sites.
The Kidney-First Initiative: What Is the Current Status of Preemptive Transplantation?

Preemptive kidney transplant (PKT)-defined as transplant before dialysis-has numerous advantages as a treatment approach for patients with advanced renal disease. In the past 15 years, PKT has become more common and has been performed at higher levels of estimated glomerular filtration rate, particularly among recipients of live-donor transplants, among whom timing of transplantation is easier to control. However, recent studies have raised important new concerns about unintended consequences of early versus late PKT. In this article, we review the convincing evidence that PKT offers diverse advantages for patients, discuss potential problems that might emerge from PKT at higher levels of renal function, examine the feasibility of a "just-in-time" PKT strategy for transplant centers, and discuss whether a new kidney allocation system could affect rates of PKT.
Only one of a wide assortment of manganese-containing SOD mimicking compounds rescues the slow aerobic growth phenotypes of both Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains lacking superoxide dismutase enzymes.

A variety of manganese-containing coordination compounds, frequently termed superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimics, have been reported to have SOD activity in vitro and to be effective at improving conditions related to increased oxidative stress in multicellular organisms. We tested the effectiveness of several of these compounds in substituting for authentic SOD enzymes in two simple systems – the prokaryote Escherichia coli and the single-celled eukaryote, Saccharomyces cerevisiae—where strains are available that completely lack cytoplasmic SOD activity and are thus significantly impaired in their ability to grow aerobically. Most of the compounds tested, including Euk-8 and Euk-134, manganese salen derivatives developed by Eukarion, M40403, a manganese complex of a bis(cyclohexylpyridine)-substituted macrocyclic ligand developed by Metaphore, and several manganese porphyrin derivatives, were ineffective in both systems. Only the manganese tetrapyridyl porphyrin complex MnTM-2-PyP and two close relatives were effective in rescuing aerobic growth of E. coli lacking SOD, and, in the case of sod1Δ yeast, only MnTM-2-PyP itself was fully effective. Surprisingly, several compounds reported to be beneficial in other in vivo model systems (Euk-8, Euk-134, M40403) were actually toxic to these organisms lacking SOD, although they had no effect on the wild type parent strains. Our results suggest the possibility that the beneficial effects of some of the so-called “SOD mimic drugs” may be due to some property other than in vivo superoxide dismutase activity.
Abstract C58: IL‐1 receptor regulates calprotectin‐dependent accumulation of pathogenic bacteria in oral carcinoma

The oral epithelium represents the mucosal immune system9s initial line of defense against invasive bacterial and viral pathogens. Invasion of bacterial pathogens into oral epithelial cells increases expression of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin‐1α (IL‐1α). Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) express more IL‐1α and have greater numbers of colonizing bacteria than normal oral tissues. Previously, we showed that exogenous IL‐1α induces expression of antimicrobial proteins (AMP), including calprotectin, a heterodimer of S100A8 and S100A9 and increases IL‐1 receptor‐dependent resistance of buccal carcinoma cells to the invasive bacterial pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes. Since S100A9 is down‐regulated in HNSCC, we knocked down calprotectin using siRNA against S100A8 and S100A9 in human buccal carcinoma cells (TR146) to further characterize the role of calprotectin in the IL‐1α‐dependent pathogen response. First, we examined the time course IL‐1α expression in TR146 cells in response to coincubation with L. monocytogenes. We then assessed the exogenous IL‐1α dose‐dependent regulation of intracellular (calprotectin) and extracellular (human β‐defensin‐2; h‐BD2) AMPs using comparative real‐time RT‐PCR. Lastly, we examined the role of calprotectin, in response to exogenous IL‐1α, for modulation of resistance to L. monocytogenes invasion in TR146 cells expressing siRNA against S100A8 and S100A9 (A8A9c10) or non‐specific siRNA (Neg3) using an antibiotic protection assay. We found that L. monocytogenes increases IL‐1α gene expression in a time‐dependent manner in wild type (WT) TR146 cells. Exogenous IL‐1α induces a dose‐dependent increase in expression of h‐BD2 and calprotectin subunits in Neg3, A8A9c10 and WT TR146 cells. Furthermore, exogenous IL‐1α provides IL‐1 receptor‐mediated protection against L. monocytogenes invasion in WT TR146 cells. In calprotectin‐silenced A8A9c10 cells, however, exogenous IL‐1α increases the proportion of intracellular bacteria when compared to Neg3 cells (123% to 77% of the vehicle control, respectively; p These data strongly suggest that IL‐1α signaling through the IL‐1 receptor regulates calprotectin‐mediated, cell‐autonomous resistance to bacterial invasion as modeled by L.monocytogenes. Exogenous IL‐1α increases expression of IL‐8 and GM‐CSF in HNSCC, which enhances invasion of inflammatory tumor‐promoting immune cells and malignant progression. Therefore, for the first time, we show the loss of calprotectin in oral carcinoma cells, combined with increased IL‐1α, as seen in HNSCC, can lead to increased bacterial colonization of oral carcinoma cells and expression of proinflammatory signals. These events may contribute to tumor growth and progression. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(23 Suppl):C58.
STUDIES ON DEVELOPING AND RELEASED SPERMATIA IN THE RED ALGA, TIFFANIELLA SNYDERAE (RHODOPHYTA)1

Developing and released spermatia of the red alga, Tiffaniella snyderae (Farl.) Abb. were studied. Spermatia were observed under hydrodynamically defined conditions and found to be released from the exposed spermatangial heads in a spermatium-plus-strand unit that remained connected to the spermatangial head. Interactions of single-spermatial strands resulted in the formation of multi-spermatial strands as long as 600 μm with as many as 47 spermatia along their length; however, most were 100–200 μm with 8–21 spermatia. Strand length and number of spermatia were correlated. Spermatial strands contracted or extended and rotated as the water velocity past the plant was changed, and in still water the strands retracted into a clump on the spermatangial head surface. Each strand type exhibited a characteristic threshold water velocity at which it reached maximum length, and above which it broke and was carried away. Fluorescence microscopy showed that the strands did not contain nucleic acid (DNA) and could thus be differentiated from filamentous blue-green algal and bacterial epiphytes. Histochemical staining indicated that the strands and spermatial vesicles contained an acidic, sulfated polysaccharide. Chelation of Ca2+ with EGTA resulted in strand breakdown suggesting that this divalent cation may be involved in strand integrity. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that release from the spermatangia occurred through tears in the cuticle covering the spermatangial head if it was still present, or from exposed spermatangia. Individual spermatia were attached tangentially to a well-defined strand 0.64 μm in diameter in the contracted state to 0.2 μm in the extended state. Transmission electron microscopy of spermatangial heads showed that immature spermatangia were characterized by a centrally positioned nucleus and abundant ER cisternae filled with a moderately electron dense granular material. Later in development the spermatangia acquire two spermatial vesicles containing highly convoluted fibrillar contents. The cell becomes polarized with the nucleus displaced apically and the spermatial vesicles occupying the basal half of the spermatangium. At maturity one of the vesicles is released basally. Liberated spermatia contain a membrane-bound nucleus and mitochondria and are associated with an oblong accumulation of fibrous material similar in size and position to the strand observed with the SEM. These strands are discussed in relation to red algal fertilization and other phases of the red algal life-history.
Casimir energy for spherical boundaries

Calculations of the Casimir energy for spherical geometries which are based on integrations of the stress tensor are critically examined. It is shown that despite their apparent agreement with numerical results obtained from mode summation methods, they are subject to criticism on several points. Specifically, these include (1) an improper application of the stress tensor to spherical boundaries, (2) the neglect of pole terms in contour integrations, and (3) the imposition of inappropriate boundary conditions upon the relevant propagators. A calculation which is based on the stress tensor and which avoids such problems is shown to be possible. It is, however, equivalent to the mode summation method and does not therefore constitute an independent calculation of the Casimir energy. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society.
Psychotherapy in a Veterans Administration mental hygiene clinic.

The veteran, whose needs for dependency were either activated or prolonged during military service, finds himself devoid of group-solidarity and its concomitant strengths. The purposes of the psychotherapeutic approach in the clinic, by combining individual and group treatments, provides the situation through which a re-synthesis of his social cognizance and a desensitization to his daily problems takes place. Men and their relationship to life about them, as well as men and their problems within them, have been the clinic's preoccupations. The statistical presentation of 100 consecutive cases (see appendix) throws some light on the socio-cultural factors operative in those applying for treatment at the Veterans Administration mental hygiene clinic. The group-effort toward a re-identification with the cultural-milieu from which the group has strayed furnisheds an impetus toward an acceptance of life-realities. All resources-Veterans Administration and community, social or religious-are utilized. this therapeutic approach has given encouraging results in over half of hte cases treated.
Genetic studies of growth in domesticated rainbow trout

Abstract The heritability of body weight and the form of the growth curve was investigated in two crossbred strains of domesticated rainbow trout. Growth rate was nearly exponential at young ages but slowed to nearly linear at older ages. An empirical equation was derived that related exponential growth constants to the observed growth patterns. Heritabilities of body weight based on full-sib families were estimated at six ages for each stock. Estimates made at young ages were similar to other estimates of body weight in salmonid fish. However, non-additive genetic variance, culling bias and common environmental effects may have inflated estimates made at older ages, as the estimates were extremely high, and these possible sources of confounding were known to exist in the experimental design.
Frequentist analysis of hierarchical models for population dynamics and demographic data

Hierarchical models include random effects or latent state variables. This class of models includes state–space models for population dynamics, which incorporate process and sampling variation, and models with random individual or year effects in capture–mark–recapture models, for example. This paper reviews methods for frequentist analysis of hierarchical models and gives an example of a non-Gaussian, potentially nonlinear analysis of Lapwing data using the Monte Carlo kernel likelihood (MCKL) method for maximum-likelihood estimation and bridge sampling for calculation of likelihood values given estimated parameters. The Lapwing example uses the state–space model as part of an integrated population model, which combines survey data with ring-recovery demographic data. The methods reviewed include filtering methods, such as the Kalman filter and sequential Monte Carlo (or particle filtering) methods, Monte Carlo expectation maximization, data cloning, and MCKL. The latter methods estimate the maximum-likelihood parameters but omit a normalizing constant from the likelihood that is needed for model comparisons, such as the Akaike information criterion and likelihood ratio tests. The methods reviewed for normalizing constant calculation include filtering, importance sampling, likelihood ratios from importance sampling, and bridge sampling. For the Lapwing example, a novel combination of MCKL parameter estimation, bridge sampling likelihood calculation, and profile likelihood confidence intervals for an integrated population model is presented to illustrate the feasibility of these methods. A complementary view of Bayesian and frequentist analysis is taken.
Wide-field Time-Resolved Molecular Optical Tomography

Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT) plays an increase role in preclinical imaging. Here, we will present our instrumental, theoretical and experimental efforts to establish a new method to perform whole-body FMT based on wide-field time-resolved illumination.
Effect of multiple feeds on a termination‐free polymerization in continuous stirred tank reactors

The effect of monomer and initiator feeds to each of a series of continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) on the molecular weight distributions, average molecular weight, polymer production rate, and initiator and monomer conversions is studied for the termination-free polymerization system. For initiator feed concentrations less than 0.001 mole/liter, the distribution becomes narrower as the polymer progresses from reactor 1 to reactor 3. But for concentrations of initiator of 0.01 mole/liter, the distribution may be broadened from reactor 1 to reactor 3. The broadening of the distribution results in the production of a lower molecular weight polymer.
Cloning and characterization of chicken fat mass and obesity associated (Fto) gene: fasting affects Fto expression

Fat mass and obesity associated gene (Fto), also known as Fatso, is a member of the Fe-II and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase superfamily. Recent studies in humans and rodents suggest that Fto is involved in food intake regulation and lipid metabolism, whereas single nucleotide mutations in the Fto gene are associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The Fto gene is highly conserved from green algae to humans, but little is known about the avian Fto gene or protein. The objectives of the current study were to clone full-length chicken Fto cDNA and to determine the effect of age or feeding status on Fto expression. With the use of rapid amplification of cDNA ends, the full-length chicken Fto cDNA was cloned and found to share 63% to 66% homology with the mammalian Fto nucleotide sequence. Several regions of the chicken Fto protein, including the substrate (2-oxoglutarate) binding domains, were found to be identical to mammalian Fto protein. Western blotting with anti-human Fto antibody and reverse transcription PCR studies showed that Fto protein and gene were ubiquitously expressed in various tissues of the chicken. With the use of quantitative PCR, Fto mRNA levels were found to be higher in liver and skeletal muscle of 8-wk-old chickens than in 4-wk-old chickens. In addition, alterations in feeding status resulted in significant changes in Fto mRNA and Fto protein expression in the liver but not in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue of broiler chickens. Taken together, our data suggest that Fto probably plays a significant role in liver function and energy metabolism in the chicken.
Solubility of anthracene in binary alcohol + 1-pentanol solvent mixtures at 25°C: Comparison of expressions derived from Mobile Order theory and the Kretschmer-Wiebe association model

A relatively simple expression is developed for predicting the solubility of an inert crystalline solute in binary alcohol + alcohol solvent mixtures based upon the Kretschmer-Wiebe association model. The predictive accuracy of the newlyderived expression is compared to equation(s) derived previously from Mobile Order theory using experimental anthracene solubilities in seven binary alcohol + 1-pentanol solvent mixtures at 25°C, which were measured as part of the present investigation. Computations show that both models accurately describe the solubility behavior of anthracene in the binary solvent systems studied. Average absolute deviations between observed and predicted values were 0.9% and 1.4% for the Kretschmer-Wiebe and Mobile Order predictive equations, respectively.
Positivity preserving semi-Lagrangian discontinuous Galerkin formulation: Theoretical analysis and application to the Vlasov-Poisson system

Semi-Lagrangian (SL) methods have been very popular in the Vlasov simulation community [29,3,4,18,32,5,24,26]. In this paper, we propose a new Strang split SL discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method for solving the Vlasov equation. Specifically, we apply the Strang splitting for the Vlasov equation [6], as a way to decouple the nonlinear Vlasov system into a sequence of 1-D advection equations, each of which has an advection velocity that only depends on coordinates that are transverse to the direction of propagation. To evolve the decoupled linear equations, we propose to couple the SL framework with the semi-discrete DG formulation. The proposed SL DG method is free of time step restriction compared with the Runge-Kutta DG method, which is known to suffer from numerical time step limitation with relatively small CFL numbers according to linear stability analysis. We apply the recently developed positivity preserving (PP) limiter [37], which is a low-cost black box procedure, to our scheme to ensure the positivity of the unknown probability density function without affecting the high order accuracy of the base SL DG scheme. We analyze the stability and accuracy properties of the SL DG scheme by establishing its connection with the direct and weak formulations of the characteristics/Lagrangian Galerkin method [23]. The quality of the proposed method is demonstrated via basic test problems, such as linear advection and rigid body rotation, and via classical plasma problems, such as Landau damping and the two stream instability.
Emotional Responses Toward Humans in Monkeys with Selective Frontal Lesions

Abstract Monkeys with lateral or orbital frontal lesions, operated controls with inferotemporal lesions and unoperated controls were tested for aggressive and aversive responses toward humans as judged by three observers. Contrary to expectations based upon previous findings, the frontal monkeys failed to show decreased avoidance of humans, and the orbital frontal monkeys showed increased avoidance compared with the other groups.
Christian Wilhelm Blomstrand (1826-1897) and Sophus Mads Jørgensen (1837-1914). Their Correspondence from 1870 to 1897

Summary A summary of the letters exchanged between the Swedish chemist and mineralogist Christian Wilhelm Blomstrand and the Danish chemist Sophus Mads Jorgensen between the years 1870 and 1897 is presented, along with occasional excerpts, which give some idea of the ‘flavor’ of the correspondence and throw light on the personalities of the writers. Seventy-eight letters are summarized (42 from Blomstrand and 36 from Jorgensen).
Does a High-Flexion Design Affect Early Outcome of Medial Unicondylar Knee Arthroplasty?: Clinical Comparison at 2 Years

Recently, implant companies have sought to target a more active segment of the population with high-flex implants. Our aim was to compare a successful medial UKA implant with its newer high-flex version. Sixty-one patients (nonflex, 33; high-flex [HF], 28) were prospectively followed after medial UKA with a minimum of 2-year follow-up. Patients were evaluated using Short Form 12, Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis (WOMAC), Knee Society Scores, and range of motion (ROM). The HF group exhibited significantly higher WOMAC Physical Function scores at 3-month follow-up and higher WOMAC Pain and SF-12 Mental Component scores at 2-year follow-up; all other comparisons were not statistically different, including ROM. The HF cohort had significantly higher improvements in Knee Society Function and Knee score at 1- and 2-year follow-up, respectively; all other comparisons yielded no significant differences in mean improvement from baseline, including ROM or survivorship.
Femtosecond relaxation of carriers generated by near-band-gap optical excitation in compound semiconductors

A detailed examination of the physics underlying femtosecond relaxation of optically excited carriers in the near-band-gap regime of compound semiconductors with a special emphasis on band renormalization and Coulomb enhancement of the optical matrix elements is presented. This is done using a Monte Carlo formulation including Coulomb enhancement, band renormalization, and dynamic screening. The accuracy of the simulation has been verified through correlation with a series of experiments performed over a wide range of near-band-gap photon energies and pulse intensities. The results are found to differ greatly from those obtained for energy excitations far from the band edge. The observed carrier relaxation is found to be very insensitive to all relative scattering rates in contrast to excitation at high energies. Coulomb enhancement and band renormalization together are found to be important factors at both low and high excitation energies and should be important considerations in all efforts in the field. For a cold distribution, the effect of these processes is to accelerate the observed relaxation while for a hot distribution the opposite is found. These two processes are unimportant if the carriers are excited near thermal energies. The insensitivity of the simulation to relative contributions of the scattering processes, in combination with the strong distortions introduced by band renormalization and Coulomb enhancement makes the extraction of scattering-rate information difficult. Thus, near-band-gap relaxation should rather be considered a probe into band renormalization, Coulomb enhancement, and screening. The good correlation between measured and simulated data provides justification for extending the present semiclassical formulation to the computation of macroscopic physical observables dependent on near-band-gap femtosecond carrier relaxation.