cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influence of Receptor and Ligand Density on the Shear Threshold Effect for Carbohydrate-Coated Particles on L-Selectin

The selectin family of cell adhesion molecules mediates capture and rolling adhesion of white blood cells to vascular walls, an essential component of the inflammatory response. Adhesion through L-selectin requires a hydrodynamic shear stress above a threshold level, a phenomenon known as the shear threshold effect. We have reported that the shear threshold effect can be recreated in cell-free systems, in which microspheres coated with the carbohydrate ligand sialyl Lewis x (sLe x ) are perfused over L-selectin-coated surfaces. This paper extends the use of the cell-free system to determine the concurrent influence of receptor and ligand site density on the shear threshold effect. We find that the shear threshold effect diminishes with increasing levels of either L-selectin or sLe x . At reduced site densities of either L-selectin or sLe x , the shear threshold effect is present, with maximal rolling observed at a shear stress of 1.2 dyn/cm 2 . At higher site densities of L-selectin and sLe x , the shear threshold effect disappears. These results suggest that a shear threshold is required for L-selectin-mediated rolling only when low numbers of receptor-ligand bonds can be formed. The quantitative data here may help elucidate the physicochemical mechanism of the shear threshold effect.
F region plasma drifts over Arecibo: Solar cycle, seasonal, and magnetic activity effects

Characteristics of low-latitude F region plasma drifts are determined on the basis of Arecibo incoherent scatter measurements from 1981 to 1990. The measurements show large day-to-day variability even during magnetically quiet periods. The average poleward/perpendicular plasma drifts do not change significantly with season and solar cycle except in the midnight-morning sector. The zonal drifts show clear solar cycle and seasonal effects. The plasma drifts along the magnetic field lines exhibit large altitudinal and seasonal variations, particularly near solar minimum, and are generally anticorrelated with the perpendicular/north drifts. The drift patterns observed by the Arecibo and the middle and upper atmosphere radars have significantly different seasonal dependences. This is explained by electrodynamic effects in the corresponding local and conjugate ionospheres.
Transport calculations of neutron transmission through steel using ENDF/B-V, revised ENDF/B-V and ENDF/B-VI iron evaluations

Abstract The ENDF/B-VI evaluated nuclear data file has been recently released by the U.S. National Nuclear Data Center during 1990. Among the most eagerly awaited new cross-section evaluations in this data collection are those for the natural iron isotopes, due to their importance in nuclear systems analysis and because the previous ENDF/B data (version V, which was released in 1979) are known to underestimate the transmission of fast neutrons through steel structures such as reactor pressure vessels and radiation shielding. In this paper, a comparison is made of results obtained from neutron transport calculations performed with these two ENDF/B versions (V and VI) of iron data as well as an intermediate, revised version V evaluation that was proposed in 1986. Several different response parameters that are sensitive to high-energy neutrons are examined, for a variety of geometrical configurations and source spectra. It is found that the two newer iron evaluations substantially increase the transmission of high-energy neutrons through steel components with an incident fission spectrum source. Preliminary estimates indicate that the version VI iron evaluation will considerably improve the agreement between calculations and experimental dosimeter measurements used in light water reactor pressure vessel fluence analysis. The calculated leakage spectrum of D-T fusion neutrons from an iron sphere is also improved for energies above 4 MeV, but large discrepancies with the measured spectrum are still observed at lower energies.
From content-based retrieval to invisible telepresence

Better tools for producing and managing data, combined with the human desire for information, have resulted in a data explosion. Indeed, data overload often leaves us confused, disoriented, and inefficient. The challenge is to find relevant data that lets us extract the information we want. Keyword-based systems cannot do this well, especially when working with images and video. It will be impossible to cope with the multimedia data explosion unless the data is organized for rapid information retrieval. Research in this field is in its infancy; nevertheless, commercial products are starting to appear that allow retrieval of images and video using query by pictorial example techniques. At present, these techniques work using only image primitives, but similar techniques based on domain knowledge should be available soon. Thus we will have additional techniques for providing navigational engines to ensure that the information highway is more than just a data network.
Management of Hypertension among Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Evidence suggests that coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common outcome of hypertension. Hypertension accelerates the development of atherosclerosis, and sustained elevation of blood pressure (BP) can destabilize vascular lesions and precipitate acute coronary events. Hypertension can cause myocardial ischemia in the absence of CHD. These cardiovascular risks attributed to hypertension can be reduced by optimal BP control. Although several antihypertensive agents exist, the choice of agent and the appropriate target BP for patients with CHD remain controversial. In this succinct paper, we examine the evidence and the mechanisms for the linkage between hypertension and CHD and we discuss the treatment options and the goals of therapy that are consistent with the report of the seventh Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) and American Heart Association scientific statement. We anticipate changes in the recommendations of the forthcoming JNC 8.
Recognizing burnout in health professionals

Performance, satisfaction, and stress on the job have concerned management in the private sector for years. But only relatively recently have these same issues, under various names such as "professional stress syndrome" and "professional burnout," attracted the attention of practitioners in the human services. Numerous factors, related primarily to new approaches in health care delivery and to rapidly rising societal expectations, have contributed to both the problem and the burgeoning interest in it. These factors include the development of subspecialties using sophisticated technology in highly pressured care units, the proliferation of health career personnel and the use of team delivery of care, and the increase in programs often lofty in aim but bureaucratic in structure. Ofeven greater significance, however, have been the heightened expectations of a society that today, more than ever, believes that health care is a right to be enjoyed by everyone at all stages ofevery illness; that professionals should be held accountable for meeting all the needs of the ill; that the allocation of funds to new programs would not only cure all illnesses but even prevent some; and, finally, that a person is no longer "lucky to have a job," but is entitled to enjoyment and self-actualization during working hours.
Global storm time depletion of the outer electron belt

The outer radiation belt consists of relativistic (>0.5 MeV) electrons trapped on closed trajectories around Earth where the magnetic field is nearly dipolar. During increased geomagnetic activity, electron intensities in the belt can vary by orders of magnitude at different spatial and temporal scales. The main phase of geomagnetic storms often produces deep depletions of electron intensities over broad regions of the outer belt. Previous studies identified three possible processes that can contribute to the main-phase depletions: adiabatic inflation of electron drift orbits caused by the ring current growth, electron loss into the atmosphere, and electron escape through the magnetopause boundary. In this paper we investigate the relative importance of the adiabatic effect and magnetopause loss to the rapid depletion of the outer belt observed at the Van Allen Probes spacecraft during the main phase of 17 March 2013 storm. The intensities of >1 MeV electrons were depleted by more than an order of magnitude over the entire radial extent of the belt in less than 6 h after the sudden storm commencement. For the analysis we used three-dimensional test particle simulations of global evolution of the outer belt in the Tsyganenko-Sitnov (TS07D) magnetic field model with an inductive electric field. Comparison of the simulation results with electron measurements from the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer experiment shows that magnetopause loss accounts for most of the observed depletion at L>5, while at lower L shells the depletion is adiabatic. Both magnetopause loss and the adiabatic effect are controlled by the change in global configuration of the magnetic field due to storm time development of the ring current; a simulation of electron evolution without a ring current produces a much weaker depletion.
Excitonic field screening and bleaching in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

Photoinduced carrier dynamics in a sequence of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are studied by employing steady state and ultrafast spectroscopy at room temperature. Time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measured short carrier lifetimes of , 140 ps at room temperature. Steady state differential transmission was used to measure the in-well field screening due to the photoinjected carriers. The observed offset in emission energy from excitonic screening energies is consistent with the emission of carriers through localized states slightly below the excitonic resonance energy. Furthermore, time-resolved differential transmission with amplified pulses, where significant carrier densities can be optically generated, provides evidence of both excitonic bleaching and field screening in these InGaN quantum wells (QWs). The comparison of the time-resolved differential absorption spectra at various carrier densities allows us to identify different carrier recombination dynamics in the InGaN well and to separate the field screening from the bleaching effects. Finally, the extreme prolongation of the carrier recombination lifetime up to , 4 ms suggests the spatial separation between electrons and holes under the large in-well fields. q 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Search for Variable Stars in Globular Clusters

A program to search poorly studied southern globular clusters for variable stars is being carried out on the 1-m Yale telescope at CTIO. Recently two galactic bulge clusters of moderately high metallicity have been found to contain RR Lyrae variables; a cluster of similar metallicity a little farther from the galactic center apparently has none.
Hardware support for bulk data movement in server platforms

Bulk data movement occurs commonly in server work-loads and their performance is rather poor on today's microprocessors. We propose the use of small dedicated copy engines, and present a detailed analysis of a bulk data copy engine architecture. We describe the hardware support required to implement the copy engine and to tightly integrate it into server platforms. Our evaluation is based on an execution driven simulator that was extended with detailed models of bulk data movement engines. The simulation results show that dedicated engines are quite effective in eliminating the data movement overhead and are an attractive choice for handling bulk data in future high performance server platforms.
The Influence of El Nino-Southern Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation on Caribbean Tropical Cyclone Activity

Abstract Caribbean basin tropical cyclone activity shows significant variability on interannual as well as multidecadal time scales. Comprehensive statistics for Caribbean hurricane activity are tabulated, and then large-scale climate features are examined for their impacts on this activity. The primary interannual driver of variability is found to be El Nino–Southern Oscillation, which alters levels of activity due to changes in levels of vertical wind shear as well as through column stability. Much more activity occurs in the Caribbean with La Nina conditions than with El Nino conditions. On the multidecadal time scale, the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation is shown to play a significant role in Caribbean hurricane activity, likely linked to its close relationship with multidecadal alterations in the size of the Atlantic warm pool and the phase of the Atlantic meridional mode. When El Nino–Southern Oscillation and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation are examined in combination, even stronger relations...
Leishmania donovani has distinct mannosylphosphoryltransferases for the initiation and elongation phases of lipophosphoglycan repeating unit biosynthesis

Lipophosphoglycan (LPG) is the predominant surface glycoconjugate of Leishmania promastigotes and plays several roles in the infectious cycle of this protozoan parasite. The salient feature of LPG is the presence of 15‐30 copies of a disaccharide-phosphate repeating unit Gal(b1,4)Man(a1-PO4), which is also found on many other secreted molecules (secretory acid phosphatase, phosphoglycan, proteophosphoglycan). This structural diversity suggests that a multiplicity of enzymes mediating repeating unit addition may exist, especially for the mannosylphosphoryltransferases (MPTs), which initiate repeating unit synthesis. This work has taken a combined biochemical-genetic approach to resolve this issue. An lpg mutant of Leishmania dono6ani, JEDI, was obtained by antibody selection against cells expressing a repeating unit epitope of LPG. Metabolic and surface labeling experiments revealed that JEDI cells accumulated a truncated form of LPG bearing only a single repeating unit: [Gal(b1,4)Man(a1-PO4)][Gal(a1,6)Gal(a1,3)Galf(b1,3)[Glc(a1-PO4)]Man(a1,3)Man(a1,4)GlcN(a1,6)]-PI. Enzymatic assays of microsomal preparations showed that JEDI lacked MPT activity when tested with a repeating unit acceptor but retained wild-type Abbre6iations: AnhMan, 2,5-anhydromannose; CHAPS, 3-(3-chloramidopropyldimethyl-ammonio)-1-propanesulfonic acid; eMPT, elongation LPG mannosylphosphoryltransferase; GIPL, glycosylinositolphospholipid; HBSS, Hank’s balanced salt solution; HPLC, high pressure liquid chromatography; iMPT, initiating LPG mannosylphosphoryltransferase; LPG, lipophosphoglycan; MPT, mannosylphosphoryltransferase; PI-PLC, phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C; TLCK, 1-chloro-3-tosylamido7amino-2-heptone; WT, wild-type.
On computing the capacity of relay networks in polynomial time

The capacity or approximations to capacity of various single-source single-destination relay network models has been characterized in terms of the cut-set upper bound. In principle, a direct computation of this bound requires evaluating the cut capacity over exponentially many cuts. We show that the minimum cut capacity of a relay network under some special assumptions can be cast as a minimization of a submodular function, and as a result, can be computed efficiently. We use this result to show that the capacity, or an approximation to the capacity within a constant gap for the Gaussian, wireless erasure, and Avestimehr-Diggavi-Tse deterministic relay network models can be computed in polynomial time. We present some empirical results showing that computing constant-gap approximations to the capacity of Gaussian relay networks with around 300 nodes can be done in order of minutes.
Metagenomics and Microbial Communities

Metagenomics is the genomic analysis of microbial communities. This new science provides access to organisms that are recalcitrant to culturing, as are the vast majority of microorganisms on Earth. Metagenomics thereby offers a first peek at the wide variety of life that has never been studied, thus providing new insight into the structure and function of ecosystems as diverse as the oceans and the human gastrointestinal tract. Keywords: metagenomics; microbial ecology; microbial communities; unculturable; biotechnology
Simulation and design of a dual-kanban production system

Abstract A procedure to evaluate system design parameters for “pull” production strategies is presented in this paper. The evaluation procedure is based on a cost function which includes the inventory carrying, storage, setup, stockout, and idle costs. A combined SLAM II/FORTRAN simulation model and electronic spreadsheets support the evaluation procedure. A “pull” production strategy using the dual-kanban production control method is modeled. The best design in terms of unit load size/number of kanbans is found to (a) satisfy daily production requirements and (b) minimize the cost function.
Relationship Quality and Burden among Caregivers for Late-stage Cancer Patients

Objective This study explores how caregiver relationship quality with family, patient, and patient’s health care provider (HCP) is associated with subjective caregiver burden during the early treatment phase for late-stage cancer.
Fiber pathways and branching patterns of biocytin-labeled olivocochlear neurons in the mouse brainstem

Olivocochlear neurons have somata in the superior olivary complex in the brainstem and project fibers to the cochlea. The purpose of the present study was to demonstrate the fiber pathways and branching patterns of olivocochlear fibers within the brainstem. Olivocochlear fibers were labeled by extracellular injections of biocytin into the cochlea of mice. The injections labeled two populations of olivocochlear fibers. Thin olivocochlear fibers arose from small somata of the lateral olivocochlear group located ipsilaterally in the lateral superior olive. Thick olivocochlear fibers arose from larger somata of the medial olivocochlear group located bilaterally in the periolivary nuclei. The lateral olivocochlear and medial olivocochlear fibers had similar courses but differed in their branching patterns. Branches from lateral olivocochlear fibers terminated near their somata of origin in the lateral superior olive or in the lateral vestibular nucleus. Branches from medial olivocochlear fibers terminated in the inferior vestibular nucleus or in the cochlear nuclear complex. A few branches from medial olivocochlear fibers projected to the contralateral side. Although they project primarily to the cochlea, olivocochlear neurons also give off branches to a variety of nuclei in the brainstem, thus involving auditory and non-auditory nuclei in the olivocochlear reflex system. © 1993 Wiley-Liss,Inc.
Genomic and resistance gene homolog diversity of the dominant tallgrass prairie species across the U.S. Great Plains precipitation gradient.

Background Environmental variables such as moisture availability are often important in determining species prevalence and intraspecific diversity. The population genetic structure of dominant plant species in response to a cline of these variables has rarely been addressed. We evaluated the spatial genetic structure and diversity of Andropogon gerardii populations across the U.S. Great Plains precipitation gradient, ranging from approximately 48 cm/year to 105 cm/year.
Exponential stability of MIMO networked control systems with data packet dropout

Exponential stability and controller design problems for MIMO networked control systems (NCSs) with state feedback and data packet dropout are studied. Based on fixed data packed dropout rate, the state feedback NCS is modeled as an asynchronous dynamical system (ADS) constrained by event rates. The negative semi-definite matrix condition for exponential stability and the controller design of NCS are presented. Simulation examples show that the negative semi-definite matrix condition of exponential stability is feasible.
MOUSE MODELS FOR HUMAN HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS

Mouse models of human cancer play an important role in understanding the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and have accelerated the search for finding new molecular targets for cancer therapy. However, genetically engineered mouse models for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have only recently overcome major technical obstacles and begun to be explored. Here we review the current progress in the development of mouse models for human HNSCC, with emphasis on conditional transgenic and knockout mouse models. These new models faithfully recapitulate human HNSCC at both the pathologic and molecular levels. These animal models will not only be useful to define the roles of specific genes in HNSCC development and progression but will also provide a unique tool for developing and testing new therapeutic approaches.
Three-dimensional microwave imaging by local shape function method with CGFFT

The use of scattered electromagnetic waves to determine the internal material properties of objects is a much-studied problem. We propose the local shape function method (LSF) with the CGFFT T-matrix method to reconstruct the object permittivity in three dimensions. The algorithm accounts for multiple scattering by casting the inverse problem into a minimization problem, and iteratively minimizing the difference between the measured and calculated fields from the current object profile. In 3D scattering, the dyadic Green's function singularity needs a more cautious treatment, while LSF avoids the singularity problem by matching the boundary condition at the surface of each subscatterer instead of at the center, which yields a less nonlinear inverse problem compared with other techniques. At each step of the minimization process, numerous forward problems corresponding to different transmitters have to be solved efficiently. Thus, the CGFFT T-matrix method is chosen to achieve this end, and the computational cost of the algorithms can be O(N/sub T/Nlog N), where N/sub T/ and N are the number of transmitters and that of discretized cells, respectively. Some numerical examples are presented to show that LSF can reconstruct the permittivity with high fidelity.
Inner-City African American Parental Involvement in Elementary Schools: Getting beyond Urban Legends of Apathy.

Parental involvement in schools is a national priority for both educators and researchers to promote the successful schooling of contemporary youth. Contemporary parental involvement research has produced some promising findings, but parental involvement efforts with inner-city African Americans are currently limited by problems of research methodology and program foci. Certain research studies do, however, demonstrate that inner-city African American parents have responded positively to parental involvement programs that emphasize themes of empowerment, outreach, and indigenous resources. Based on these three promising themes, the authors propose practical strategies for increasing inner-city African American parental involvement as a means of increasing parental participation and school success among inner-city African American families.
Mammalian viruses in human periodontitis

A prior investigation has demonstrated a higher prevalence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in subgingival specimens from periodontitis patients than from gingivitis patients. This study aimed to determine the frequency of HCMV, EBV-1, EBV-2, herpes simplex virus (HSV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in subgingival samples from 27 adults who each contributed both a periodontitis and a gingivitis site. Viral detection was performed using a nested-polymerase chain reaction method. Twenty-four subjects (89%) yielded at least one of the five test viruses from deep periodontal pockets, whereas only 15 (56%) showed viruses from shallow periodontal sites (P = 0.015; chi-square test). Viral co-infection occurred more frequently in deep than in shallow periodontal sites (P = 0.015). HCMV was detected with higher frequency in deep than in shallow periodontal sites (P = 0.023). The possible periodontopathogenic mechanisms of mammalian viruses in human periodontitis are discussed. The role and importance of HCMV and other mammalian viruses in the initiation and progression of destructive periodontal disease merits further investigation.
A new paradigm for base station receivers: high IF sampling + digital filtering

A dual-channel, IF sampling receiver IC with fast RSSI and AGC is described. The ADC samples with only 200 femto second aperture jitter and is used to digitize intermediate frequencies (IFs) up to 250 MHz. A companion digital filter and mixer processor provides 1657 MOPs; together they provide a flexible platform for use in a new generation of digital receivers for various radio standards.
A 24-GHz CMOS sub-harmonic mixer based zero-IF receiver with an improved active balun

The design and implementation of a 24 GHz subharmonic mixer-based quadrature direct-conversion receiver is presented. The receiver includes an RF section with an LNA, an improved active balun, multi-phase LO based passive subharmonic mixers, and an LO section containing an octet phase generator obtained from an on-chip integrated quadrature VCO. Fabricated in a 0.13 µm CMOS process, the RF and IF sections consume 48 mA and the LO section consumes 40 mA, using a 1.6 V supply. The measured conversion gain of the receiver was 12.5 dB with a DSB Noise Figure of 7.4 dB.
Distributed Cooperative Active Sensing Using Consensus Filters

We consider the problem of multiple mobile sensor agents tracking the position of one or more moving targets. In our formulation, each agent maintains a target estimate, and each agent moves so as to maximize the expected information from its sensor, relative to the current uncertainty in the estimate. The novelty of our approach is that each agent need only communicate with one-hop neighbors in a communication network, resulting in a fully distributed and scalable algorithm, yet the performance of the system approximates that of a centralized optimal solution to the same problem. We provide two fully distributed algorithms based on one-time measurements and a Kalman filter approach, and we validate the algorithms with simulations.
The Neuropeptide Secretoneurin Acts as a Direct Angiogenic Cytokine In Vitro and In Vivo

Background— Secretoneurin is an abundant neuropeptide of the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, located in nerve fibers characterized by a close interaction with blood vessels and known to stimulate endothelial cell migration. Methods and Results— We hypothesized that secretoneurin might act as an angiogenic cytokine and tested for these effects in vivo using a mouse cornea neovascularization model and in vitro by assessing capillary tube formation in a matrigel assay. In vivo, secretoneurin-induced neovasculature is characterized by a distinct pattern of arterial and venous vessels of large diameter and length. Immunohistochemical staining for CD-31 revealed endothelial lining of the inner surface of these vessels, and recruitment of α-smooth muscle actin–positive perivascular cells suggests vessel maturation. In vitro, secretoneurin-induced capillary tube formation was dose dependent and specific, confirming that effects of secretoneurin occur directly on endothelial cells. Secretoneuri...
The influence of QRS cancellation on signal characteristics of atrial fibrillation in the surface electrocardiogram

QRS cancellation methods have been used to analyze atrial activity in the ECG including atrial fibrillation. In this study, the contribution of imperfect cancellation was evaluated by comparing "pure" atrial fibrillation in a brief ventricular asystole after RF ablation of the AV junction, and data obtained by the cancellation method during pacing just before and after. The results were compared by linear regression. The peak frequencies were 4.8-7.3 (5.5/spl plusmn/0.8) Hz for the "pure" and 4.8-6.7 (5.4/spl plusmn/0.7) Hz for the cancelled ECG segments (R/sup 2/=0.89), and the mean STFT peak frequencies were 4.6-6.9 (5.8/spl plusmn/0.7) Hz for the "pure" and 4.8-6.8 (5.8/spl plusmn/0.7) Hz for the cancelled segments (R/sup 2/=0.97). Thus, cancellation is reliable for characterizing atrial fibrillation. The peak frequency and maximum power for atrial fibrillation are in the 4-9 Hz band as reported previously.
What database management system(s) should be employed in bioinformatics applications

1. No DBMS: Although most computer scientists would dismiss this alternative as ridiculous, I would wager that a significant number of the hundreds of molecular biology DBs that now exist are not constructed using any DBMS. This should make us all stop and think. Either the biologists who are constructing these DBs know something that computer scientists don’t know, or they don’t know something that computer scientists do know. I believe the latter is the case—I believe that the vast majority of biologists have not received even the most elementary education in DBs, and have little idea of how DBMSs can help them, nor of how to go about using a DBMS. Note that the situation today is far improved over that of ten years ago. Today most large DB projects do employ a DBMS, whereas 10 years ago virtually none did so. Bioinformatics is still suffering from those mistakes. 2. Open-source DBMSs: Many of the molecular-biology DB projects that are employing DBMSs are employing open-source DBMSs to save money and because they believe that access to the source code will be useful in fixing any DBMS bugs that are discovered, or in extending the DBMS. My limited understanding of these DBMSs is that they have significant technical limitations compared to commercial DBMS product, yet little hard information about this issue is circulating in the bioinformatics community. We should obtain and circulate such information, whether from the literature or by empirical study. I also believe that the DBMSs are sufficiently complex that access to their source code is essentially useless to any but the most experienced DBMS hacker (and perhaps not even to them), and that this point must be articulated to the community. 3. Commercial DBMSs: Many projects use commercial relational DBMSs, specifically, Oracle. Virtually no projects use commercial object-oriented DBMSs (OO DBMSs). Why? OO DBMSs were developed to overcome limitations of relational DBMSs, and have now existed for about a decade. Little hard information about this issue is circulating in the bioinformatics community. We should obtain and circu-
TextTone: expressing emotion through text

An increasingly large part of online communication is inherently social in nature. This social interaction is limited by the modalities of online communication, which do not convey tone or emotion well. Although some solutions have evolved or have been proposed, they are inherently ambiguous. We present a system, TextTone, for the explicit expression of emotion in online textual communication. TextTone incorporates reader-specific preferences for the visualization of tone and emotion. We describe social interaction and visualization scenarios that TextTone can be meaningfully used for and discuss an initial implementation. Finally, we present the results of a preliminary evaluation of this implementation of TextTone.
Obstructive sleep apnoea in children with obesity.

AimsThe aim of this study was to identify factors that predict risk of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in obese children, which could aid in prioritising sleep studies.MethodsA retrospective chart review was undertaken of obese children seen in the KOALA weight management clinic and Sleep clinic. Data collected included demographics, clinical history, examination findings, biochemical markers, and polysomnogram results.ResultsTwo hundred seventy-two obese children were seen in the KOALA clinic out of which 54 (20%) were also seen in the Sleep clinic because of snoring. Thirty-two were referred by the KOALA clinic; the remaining 22 were referred by other medical practitioners prior to being seen in the KOALA clinic. Thirty-nine had polysomnograms. The time from referral to Sleep clinic ranged from 10 days to 1.5 years with 50% seen within 6 months; with similar time gap between the blood tests and time of polysomnograms. Thirty-six percent (14/39) were reported to have OSA. Six children were Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) and all had OSA, which was statistically significant (P = 0.004). There was a statistically significant correlation between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and obstructive event index (OEI) in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. (r = 0.50, P = 0.04). Correlation between low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and OEI in REM was r = 0.36, P = 0.06, which approached significance.ConclusionsEthnicity was a significant factor with more obese ATSI children having OSA. The significant correlation between hs-CRP with OEI is consistent with findings of previous studies. Several factors (glycosylated haemoglobin, LDL) approached significance.
Toward a Generic Concept of Counter-Culture

Abstract Much that has been written about “counter-culture” has been culture-specific to American culture. This article suggests criteria for a generic concept of counter-culture. First, counterculture is treated as a type of culture of the genus of a subculture. Secondly, the issue is raised: which value-conflicts are so wrenching to the culture and are so categorical in nature as to deserve being called counter-cultures? Several methodologies for defining the value-conflict are explored. Thirdly, counter-culture is reserved for intracultural conflicts. Fourthly, a counter-culture is expected to have a self-sufficient ideology, not a counter-dependent one. Finally, it appears that an expanded vocabulary is needed to describe the phenomena studied under the rubric “counter-culture.” By using the axes of (1) self-sufficiency in the system of action and (2) extent of institutionalization, four types of counter-cultural phenomena are identified: the contraculture, the diffused counter-cultural movement, the ...
Chemistry of Melanin. IV. Electron Micrography of Natural Melanins.

Summary1. Melanin granules were obtained by differential centrifugation from the S-91 and Harding-Passey transplantable mouse melanomas, from the choroid, ciliary body and iris of the beef eye, and...
Abstract A88: SIAH2-mediated proteolysis of LIM domain proteins induces invasion and metastasis in response to oncogenic K-RAS activation in human pancreatic cancer cells.

ERBB/K-RAS pathway activation is often associated with reduced focal adhesion, altered cell junctions, and increased cell motility. Deciphering novel mechanisms that enhance invasion/metastasis in human cancer cells in response to ERBB/K-RAS pathway activation and finding novel targets for inhibiting active ERBB/K-RAS signals remain important goals in cancer biology. SIAH2 insufficiency was shown to impede proper K-RAS signal transduction effectively, thereby obstructing tumorigenesis and metastasis with a great potency and efficacy. While this suggests that the ubiquitin ligase SIAH2 is crucial in K-RAS-dependent oncogenesis, the exact mechanism of SIAH function in the K-RAS pathway has remained unknown. In this study, we describe the identification of three focal adhesion proteins that are new substrates of SIAH2. Through a proteomic approach in human cancer cells carrying oncogenic K-RAS mutation, we identified three SIAH-interacting LIM domain proteins that are all involved in focal adhesion function: TRIP6, FHL2 and LPXN. We demonstrated that SIAH2 interacts with, ubiquitinates and thereby causes the degradation of these LIM domain proteins, proving that that TRIP6, FHL2 and LPXN are bona fide new SIAH2 substrates in vivo. Importantly, ectopic expression of TRIP6, FHL2 and LPXN can successfully rescue SIAH2-deficient cancer cells from the pronounced defects in cell motility, cell death and tumor growth induced by SIAH2 deficiency. Hence, these three focal adhesion LIM domain proteins may represent a novel class of SIAH2 substrates that modulate ERBB/K-RAS-dependent cancer cell dissemination, focal adhesion, invasion, tumorigenesis and metastasis in human cancer cell lines with oncogenic K-RAS activation, including human pancreatic cancer cells. Citation Format: Amy H. Tang, Yang Liao, Rebecca L. Schmidt, Zandra E. Walton, Rie Takahashi. SIAH2-mediated proteolysis of LIM domain proteins induces invasion and metastasis in response to oncogenic K-RAS activation in human pancreatic cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges; Jun 18-21, 2012; Lake Tahoe, NV. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A88.
New directions in diagnostic evaluation of insect allergy.

Purpose of reviewDiagnosis of insect sting allergy and prediction of risk of sting anaphylaxis are often difficult because tests for venom-specific IgE antibodies have a limited positive predictive value and do not reliably predict the severity of sting reactions.Recent findingsComponent-resolved di
The Internet and Semantic Structure: A Re-Examination

I discuss an earlier article arguing that Google counts for paired concepts reflect the similarity of concepts and that analysis of sets of paired queries reflect semantic structure—in the sense used earlier by Osgood. I argued there that such structure could be useful as a source of ideas about attitudes and pilot data for survey research. I note that recent observations indicate that sometimes some page count sets are not logically consistent and not useful for such research. Here, I examine variables associated with one type of logical error: conjunction errors, where counts for pairs of concepts are greater than counts for one or both of the individual concepts. I review Osgood’s idea of semantic space and the logic of similarity related to search engine counts. I then present examples of two count matrices—one usable and the other with a number of conjunction errors. Next, I use the "usable" matrix as input for multidimensional scaling, and the output of that as an example of the semantic order to be found in usable data. Finally, I examine page counts from pairs of concepts from fifteen concept sets. I used three search engines: Google, Yahoo and Bing. Google and Bing returned many errors. Yahoo returned none. Google and Bing show a statistically significant relationship between conjunction errors and the complexity of the concept names. Queries with two or more terms in the names produced fewer errors than ones with single term names. More complex queries, also, tended to produce smaller page counts, and smaller counts are also associated with fewer conjunction errors. However, these data are consistent with the hypothesis that complexity has an effect on error that is independent of count size. I discuss how conjunction errors can be avoided and suggest several ways to avoid them. I conclude that page counts can be used with some confidence in the social/behavioral sciences, and discuss promising avenues for further research.
Alterations in β-adrenergic receptors, adenylate cyclase, and cyclic AMP concentrations during acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion

Acute severe myocardial ischemia and evolving myocardial infarction cause neural stimulation, increased levels of circulating catecholamines, and release of catecholamines from storage depots in the left ventricle, with consequent exposure of injured myocardial cells to relatively high concentrations of catecholamines during the transitional period in which myocyte injury becomes progressively more severe. beta-Adrenergic receptor numbers may be increased in the ischemic myocardium within 15-35 minutes of coronary artery occlusion and are associated with intact or enhanced coupling with the adenylate cyclase enzyme and elevated levels of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP); their stimulation may mediate ventricular fibrillation. The administration of beta-adrenergic blockers before or within the first few minutes after coronary artery occlusion prevents or attenuates the development of ventricular fibrillation. beta-Receptor numbers are increased in the ischemic myocardium at 60 minutes of coronary artery occlusion but are uncoupled from the adenylate cyclase enzyme at the level of the G protein and/or catalytic unit. However, with reperfusion after 60 minutes of coronary artery occlusion, the increase in ischemic-region beta-adrenergic receptor numbers persists, and adenylate cyclase responsiveness to beta-receptor stimulation is restored. If a catecholamine is administered, increases in cyclic AMP and activated phosphorylase occur in ischemic-reperfused myocardium. These data indicate that beta-adrenergic mechanisms may play an important role in arrhythmogenesis and may contribute to myocyte injury during severe and intense myocardial ischemia and evolving myocardial infarction.
The Missing Pieces in Reporting of Randomized Controlled Trials of External Beam Radiation Therapy Dose Escalation for Prostate Cancer

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the most rigorous way of determining whether a cause-effect relation exists between treatment and outcome and for assessing the cost-effectiveness of a treatment. For many patients, cancer is a chronic illness; RCTs evaluating treatments for indolent cancers must evolve to facilitate medical decision-making, as "concrete" patient outcomes (eg, survival) will likely be excellent independent of the intervention, and detecting a difference between trial arms may be impossible. In this commentary, we articulate 9 recommendations that we hope future clinical trialists and funding agencies (including those under the National Cancer Institute) will take into consideration when planning RCTs to help guide subsequent interpretation of results and clinical decision making, based on RCTs of external beam radiation therapy dose escalation for the most common indolent cancer in men, that is, prostate cancer. We recommend routinely reporting: (1) race; (2) medical comorbidities; (3) psychiatric comorbidities; (4) insurance status; (5) education; (6) marital status; (7) income; (8) sexual orientation; and (9) facility-related characteristics (eg, number of centers involved, type of facilities, yearly hospital volumes). We discuss how these factors independently affect patient outcomes and toxicities; future clinicians and governing organizations should consider this information to plan RCTs accordingly (to maximize patient accrual and total n), select appropriate endpoints (eg, toxicity, quality of life, sexual function), actively monitor RCTs, and report results so as to identify the optimal treatment among subpopulations.
Neuroimaging in Neurotoxicology

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of neuroimaging techniques that are used in neurotoxicology. Generally, neurotoxicological diseases do not cause alteration of cerebral blood flow (CBF) as could be detected by tests, which are designed to evaluate the blood vessel lumen size and/or blood flow velocity. Therefore, neurosonology group of tests should be ordered in neurotoxicological evaluation only to rule out other conditions. SPECT and PET isotopic studies provide information about CBF and metabolism. SPECT can provide information about cerebral blood flow and, indirectly, cerebral metabolism. PET provides a measure of cerebral metabolic rate for glucose. PET has the potential to become a definitive tool in the diagnosis of neurotoxicology. Current neurotoxicological evaluation using SPECT is limited to severe cases of encephalophathy in which a pool of cerebral neurons have been damaged because of a neurotoxin with a decreased CBF. Although a normal SPECT study does not exclude the possibility of encephalopathy, its findings probably exclude severe encephalopathy. Magnetic resonance imaging uses the principles of nuclear magnetic resonance to produce excellent images of normal morphology and deviations from normal produced by disease.
Teaching and Training Medicine in Genomic Era

Abstract Genetics and genomics are providing new approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Realizing the promise of genomic medicine will require education of the healthcare workforce to prepare them both to integrate genomics into their practice and to interact with genetic professionals. Most practitioners today were trained before the era of genomic medicine, and there is a wide recognition that they are not ready to use genomics on a routine basis. Education of the workforce will require addressing the continuum of the training pathway, from premedical education, though professional school, to postgraduate training, and on to continuing lifelong education. Many approaches have been developed for these various stages of training, which need to be customized to the specific context; ie, the learners, their stage of training, and the specific genomic applications that are relevant to their practice. It is likely that education of healthcare providers will be an ongoing process, though this is not the first time in medical history that a new technology has promised significant changes in practice, lending optimism that the healthcare community will be ready as new genomic advances are available for clinical application.
The Minerals of Virginia's Old Dominion Soapstone Quarry

(1977). The Minerals of Virginia's Old Dominion Soapstone Quarry. Rocks & Minerals: Vol. 52, No. 6, pp. 309-314.
Whites demonstrate anti-Black associations but do not reinforce them

Abstract White people often associate Black people with negative information and outcomes. At the same time, many White people value not being or appearing prejudiced. In an inter-race context, these two forces may conflict. Whites may be better able to acquire anti-Black associations that align with their existing explicit or implicit attitudes, but may be unmotivated to strengthen these associations because they oppose their egalitarian values. Across five studies ( N > 1100) including two pre-registered designs, Whites given a learning task were better able to initially acquire anti-Black racial associations but were unable or unwilling to then reinforce these associations. Conversely, Whites were less able to initially acquire pro-Black racial associations but then acquired and strengthened these associations. Finally, Whites were still unwilling or unable to reinforce anti-Black associations even when given a non-racial justification to do so. These results highlight the distinct but related influences of attitudes and prejudice concerns on race-related behavior.
Shared decision-making in stroke: an evolving approach to improved patient care

Shared decision-making (SDM) occurs when patients, families and clinicians consider patients' values and preferences alongside the best medical evidence and partner to make the best decision for a given patient in a specific scenario. SDM is increasingly promoted within Western contexts and is also being explored outside such settings, including in China. SDM and tools to promote SDM can improve patients' knowledge/understanding, participation in the decision-making process, satisfaction and trust in the healthcare team. SDM has also proposed long-term benefits to patients, clinicians, organisations and healthcare systems. To successfully perform SDM, clinicians must know their patients' values and goals and the evidence underlying different diagnostic and treatment options. This is relevant for decisions throughout stroke care, from thrombolysis to goals of care, diagnostic assessments, rehabilitation strategies, and secondary stroke prevention. Various physician, patient, family, cultural and system barriers to SDM exist. Strategies to overcome these barriers and facilitate SDM include clinician motivation, patient participation, adequate time and tools to support the process, such as decision aids. Although research about SDM in stroke care is lacking, decision aids are available for select decisions, such as anticoagulation for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation. Future research is needed regarding both cultural aspects of successful SDM and application of SDM to stroke-specific contexts.