cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automatons or Individuals? Voluntary Responses to COVID-19 Related Epidemic Externalities

Individuals partially internalize epidemic externalities by limiting infectious behavior and encouraging preventative behavior, which happens voluntarily when prevalence and mortality rates rise. This essay develops the logic of responsiveness from a subjective perspective and recognizes the role individuals play in the transmission and prevention of outbreaks and epidemics by focusing on voluntary changes in behavior, innovative means of prevention, and changes in rules. While responsiveness applies to all cases of infectious diseases involving people, examples from the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States support and clarify the logic. Responsiveness, viewed as a voluntary phenomenon, implies that the effectiveness of many governmental public health policies is overstated, that herd immunity depends on responsiveness, and that public health agencies can improve their fight against infectious diseases by promoting the entrepreneurial efforts of individuals.
Quality over quantity? Using sibling comparisons to examine relations between sleep quality, sleep duration, and delinquency.

Abstract Rationale A growing body of research suggests that adolescents with problematic sleep patterns are more likely to engage in externalizing and delinquent behaviors. Few studies, however, have examined the role of between- and within-family effects on this association to establish whether poor sleep is related to delinquency after controlling for familial confounding. Objective The current study examines the relationship between self-reported restless sleep, sleep duration, and delinquency from ages 16–19 in a population-based sample of U.S. youth. Methods Data from full siblings from the Children and Young Adult sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979) (CNLSY) are analyzed. Negative binomial regression models and sibling comparisons are estimated to assess between- and within-family effects of sleep on delinquency during ages 16–17. Sibling comparison cross-lagged models are then fitted to the data to examine whether sibling differences in sleep are related to sibling differences in changes in delinquency from ages 16–19. Results Siblings with higher levels of self-reported restless sleep were more likely to report higher levels of delinquency at ages 16–17, net of observable covariates and unobservable familial confounders. Sibling differences in restless sleep at ages 16–17 were also associated with increases in delinquency at ages 18–19 after controlling for familial confounding and temporal stability in both sleep and delinquent behavior. Conclusions Findings suggest that perhaps sleep quality, rather than sleep duration, should be the primary target for intervention/prevention programming efforts for adolescent delinquency.
Detecting Dye-Contaminated Vegetables Using Low-Field NMR Relaxometry

Dyeing vegetables with harmful compounds has become an alarming public health issue over the past few years. Excessive consumption of these dyed vegetables can cause severe health hazards, including cancer. Copper sulfate, malachite green, and Sudan red are some of the non-food-grade dyes widely used on vegetables by untrusted entities in the food supply chain to make them look fresh and vibrant. In this study, the presence and quantity of dye-based adulteration in vegetables are determined by applying 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry. The proposed technique was validated by treating some vegetables in-house with different dyes and then soaking them in various solvents. The resulting solutions were collected and analyzed using NMR relaxometry. Specifically, the effective transverse relaxation time constant, T2,eff, of each solution was estimated using a Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill (CPMG) pulse sequence. Finally, the estimated time constants (i.e., measured signatures) were compared with a library of existing T2,eff data to detect and quantify the presence of unwanted dyes. The latter consists of data-driven models of transverse decay times for various concentrations of each water-soluble dye. The time required to analyze each sample using the proposed approach is dye-dependent but typically no longer than a few minutes. The analysis results can be used to generate warning flags if the detected dye concentrations violate widely accepted standards for food dyes. The proposed low-cost detection approach can be used in various stages of a produce supply chain, including consumer household.
Variability in within-category implementation of stop consonant voicing in American English-speaking children.

The development of stop consonant voicing in English-speaking children has been documented as a progressive mastery of phonological contrast, but implementation of voicing within one voicing category has not been systematically examined. This study provides a comprehensive account of structured variability in phonetic realization of /b/ in running speech by 8–12-year-old American children (n = 48) when compared to adults (n = 36). The stop always occurred word-initially, was followed by either a voiced or voiceless coda, and its position varied in a sentence, which created systematic conditions to examine acoustic variability in closure duration (CD) and voicing during the closure (VDC) stemming from phonetic context and prosodic prominence. Children demonstrated command of long-distance anticipatory coarticulation, providing evidence that information about coda voicing is distributed over an entire monosyllabic word and is available in the onset stop. They also manifested covariation of cues to stop voicing and command of prosodic variation, despite greater random variability, greater CD, reduced VDC, and exaggerated execution of sentential focus when compared to adults. Controlling for regional variation, dialect was a significant predictor for adults but not for children, who no longer adhered to the marked local variants in their implementation of stop voicing.
Population viability analysis of spring chinook salmon in the South Umpqua River, Oregon

Run sizes of spring chinook salmon in the South Umpqua River in Oregon have declined dramati- cally since the early part of this century. Habitat degradation is thought to be an important factor contribut- ing to the decline of this stock, and qualitative assessment suggests the stock is at moderate risk of extinction. We use data from this and similar stocks to develop an age-structured, density-dependent model of the popula- tion dynamics that incorporates both demographic and environmental stochasticity. Under the assumption of no further habitat destruction, the population is predicted to have a greater than 95% probability of persis- tence for 200 years. However, sensitivity analysis for the density-dependence estimated from historical run- return data shows that substantially lower predicted viabilities are also statistically consistent with the data. A model that simulates continued habitat degradation results in almost certain extinction within 100 years.
The effect of spin-orbit coupling on the magnetic properties of H2Ti(μ–H)2TiH2

Excited states of singlet and triplet H2Ti(μ−H)2TiH2 have been calculated using multiconfigurational wave functions. The effects of orbital relaxation are determined by optimizing orbitals for all states separately and comparing to state-averaged calculations, and are found to be small. Dynamic electron correlation included through second-order perturbation theory is found to have a considerable effect on excited state relative energies, but not on the ordering of states. Spin-orbit coupling effects are introduced by a one-electron operator which uses an effective nuclear charge to replace two-electron effects. The resulting splittings of the lowest energy triplet state components are 0.027 and 0.199 cm−1, respectively. The former is due to the angular momentum operator which acts along the Ti–Ti axis; the latter is due almost entirely to the angular momentum operator which acts in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the Ti–H–Ti bridge. An overall ferromagnetic effect of 0.660 cm−1 on the ground s...
Heat induced HSP20 phosphorylation without increased cyclic nucleotide levels in swine carotid media

Background Heat pretreatment of swine carotid artery has been shown to increase ser16-heat shock protein 20 (HSP20) phosphorylation and suppress force, i.e., reduce force with only minimal reduction in ser19-myosin regulatory light chain (MRLC) phosphorylation.
1-Naphthylisothiocyanate-induced elevation of biliary glutathione

Abstract 1-Naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT) has been used for many years to study cholangiolitic hepatotoxicity in laboratory animals. Hallmarks of ANIT hepatotoxicity include portal edema and inflammation with bile duct epithelial and hepatic parenchymal cell necrosis. In rats, ANIT hepatotoxicity is dependent upon hepatic glutathione. Studies in vitro have demonstrated that ANIT combines reversibly with glutathione and suggest that intracellular formation and secretion of this glutathione-ANIT conjugate from hepatic parenchymal cells may be responsible for the efflux of glutathione observed upon exposure to ANIT. In vivo, glutathione conjugates produced within hepatic parenchymal cells are typically transported into bile for elimination. Therefore, large concentrations of ANIT in bile may result from hepatic parenchymal cell secretion of a reversible glutathione-ANIT conjugate. To investigate this hypothesis, bile and plasma concentrations of ANIT were determined in rats 1, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hr after administration (100 mg/kg, p.o.). Liver and bile glutathione concentrations were also evaluated. Plasma ANIT concentrations ranged between 2 and 5 μM at 1, 4, 8 and 12 hr and were 0.9 μM at 24 hr after administration. ANIT concentrations in bile at 1, 4, 8 and 12 hr were 60, 28, 21 and 22 μM, respectively. Thus, ANIT was concentrated in bile. Hepatic glutathione was not affected by ANIT during the first 12 hr after administration; however, a moderate elevation occurred by 24 hr. In contrast, a marked elevation in bile glutathione concentration (two times control) occurred 1, 4 and 8 hr after ANIT administration. Thus, the early accumulation of ANIT in bile was coincident with an elevation in bile glutathione. These findings support the hypothesis that glutathione functions to concentrate ANIT in bile. The large concentration of this toxicant in bile may be injurious to bile epithelium, a primary cellular target in ANIT hepatotoxicity.
Polyglutamine Toxicity Is Controlled by Prion Composition and Gene Dosage in Yeast

Polyglutamine expansion causes diseases in humans and other mammals. One example is Huntington's disease. Fragments of human huntingtin protein having an expanded polyglutamine stretch form aggregates and cause cytotoxicity in yeast cells bearing endogenous QN-rich proteins in the aggregated (prion) form. Attachment of the proline(P)-rich region targets polyglutamines to the large perinuclear deposit (aggresome). Aggresome formation ameliorates polyglutamine cytotoxicity in cells containing only the prion form of Rnq1 protein. Here we show that expanded polyglutamines both with (poly-QP) or without (poly-Q) a P-rich stretch remain toxic in the presence of the prion form of translation termination (release) factor Sup35 (eRF3). A Sup35 derivative that lacks the QN-rich domain and is unable to be incorporated into aggregates counteracts cytotoxicity, suggesting that toxicity is due to Sup35 sequestration. Increase in the levels of another release factor, Sup45 (eRF1), due to either disomy by chromosome II containing the SUP45 gene or to introduction of the SUP45-bearing plasmid counteracts poly-Q or poly-QP toxicity in the presence of the Sup35 prion. Protein analysis confirms that polyglutamines alter aggregation patterns of Sup35 and promote aggregation of Sup45, while excess Sup45 counteracts these effects. Our data show that one and the same mode of polyglutamine aggregation could be cytoprotective or cytotoxic, depending on the composition of other aggregates in a eukaryotic cell, and demonstrate that other aggregates expand the range of proteins that are susceptible to sequestration by polyglutamines.
Equity and arbitration in major league baseball

Equity theory argues that workers examine their job performance and salaries relative to workers in comparable situations. If compensation is inequitable, workers may adjust their behavior. We test the hypothesis that an arbitration-eligible player in Major League Baseball is more likely to file for arbitration and/or proceed to an arbitration hearing if he feels he is underpaid relative to his comparison other. Bivariate probit is used to increase efficiency and correct for the sample bias in estimating decision models within the two-step arbitration process. The results indicate that equity is a significant predictor of a player's unilateral decision to file but is an insignificant determinant of going to a hearing because of offsetting responses to equity by player and owner. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ductile bulk metallic glass.

We report on experimental evidence of pronounced global plasticity measured in monolithic Pt57.5Cu14.7Ni5.3P22.5 bulk metallic glass under both bending and unconfined compression loading conditions. A plastic strain of 20% is measured, never before seen in metallic glasses. Also, permanent deformation and a strain exceeding 3% before failure is observed during bending of 4 mm thick samples. To date, no monolithic metallic material has exhibited such a combination of high strength, extensive ductility, and high elastic limit. The large plasticity is reflected in a high Poisson ratio of 0.42, which causes the tip of a shear band to extend rather than initiate a crack. This results in the formation of multiple shear bands and is the origin of the observed large global ductility and very high fracture toughness, approximately 80 MPa m^-1/2.
Rocking of rigid blocks on randomly shaking foundations

Abstract The rocking of a rigid rectangular block on two types of shaking foundations is examined. The foundation is either a rigid plane, or a flexible (Winkler) foundation whose independent springs and dashpots separate from the block base when the springs are going into tension. Horizontal random excitation of the form of modulated white noise, which represent idealized earthquake records, are used to shake both types of foundations. Simulation shows that for each model there is an excitation intensity threshold below which no toppling of the block occurs. Above that threshold the chance of toppling increases with the intensity. It is also observed that toppling almost always follows whenever the center of mass is tilted pass the vertical through the base corners of the block.
An adaptive volume plume model

This new plume dispersion modeling concept approximates a continuous plume by a series of discrete volumes that change their shape in response to vertical wind shear and changes of atmospheric stability with height. These adaptive plume volumes are characterized by five points at different altitudes and five associated horizontal radii. The points mark the 2, 1, 0, -1, −2σz positions in a piece-wise Gaussian vertical distribution of emitted material within the volume. The horizontal radii correspond to 3σy for a radially symmetric horizontal Gaussian distribution. Advection of each point is governed by the wind at the point, the vertical rate of turbulent diffusion, and plume rise. Horizontal expansion of the volumes is governed by the local horizontal turbulent dispersion. The model reproduces analytical results quite closely for uniform steady-state conditions, except for ground-level conditions close to the source, where the adaptive volumes do not expand enough to touch the ground. Other tests show that the model reproduces the shapes, slopes and general dimensions of plume vertical cross-sections observed by airborne lidar at Kincaid, Illinois.
Path integral for the quantum harmonic oscillator using elementary methods

We present a purely analytical method to calculate the propagator for the quantum harmonic oscillator using Feynman’s path integral. Though the details of the calculation are involved, the general approach uses only matrix diagonalization and well-known integrals, techniques which an advanced undergraduate should understand. The full propagator, including both the prefactor and the classical action, is obtained from a single calculation which involves the exact diagonalization of the discretized action for the system.
High-finesse silicon Fabry-Perot optical intensity modulator fabricated by merged epitaxial lateral overgrowth

Merged ELO (MELO) technology, which is an extension of Selective Epitaxial Growth and Epitaxial Lateral Overgrowth (ELO), was used to develop the c-Si Fabry-Perot cavity fabrication which is compatible with the well developed conventional integrated circuit fabrication techniques. Increased finesse of the Fabry-Perot cavity was accomplished with multi-dielectric layers as high reflection mirrors. Polycrystalline silicon produced from amorphous Si (a-Si) and SiO2 were then chosen as the high and low index dielectric materials so that fewer number of dielectric pairs are needed to obtain a high reflectance. An optical intensity modulator using MELO technique, was fabricated and evaluated. The maximum modulation depth was measured to be 40% under an injection current density of 16 A/cm2. The current density can be made at even lower if the finesse (calculated to be 19.26) of the cavity is further increased. The measured value was 6.8 but if measured with Fourier transform IR spectrometers or by using laser as the lightsource, it could be larger.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Sinusoidal and pulse response of a plate distillation column by reflux upset

A study was made to evaluate pulses as a forcing function on a 24-plate distillation column. Pulses of two shapes, rectangular and displaced cosines, and of different widths were used as inputs to the reflux return line from the condenser to the column. The effect of the disturbance was a change in the liquid return rate which correspond to the shape and size of the pulse. The output responses of the system were temperatures measured at different times and at different plates in the column. Bode diagrams were plotted from the experimentally determined data. From these plots, it was determined that the system could be approximated by linear first-order equatons. The time constants for the linear system were determined both by direct sinusoidal forcing and by pulse forcing. Pulse data were considered acceptable when the values of the time constant and the phase angle determined by the pulse compared favorably with those determined by steady state sinusoidal forcing.
Further observations on the fine structure of the human spermatozoon.

The limiting membrane of the equatorial segment of the acrosome has a five layered appearance due to a thin dense layer apposed to the inner aspect of the unit membrane. Shorter localized areas with the same appearance are seen in the inner membrane of the anterior segment of the acrosome, but most of this membrane and all of the outer membrane of this segment show the tri-laminar unit membrane structure. In longitudinal sections the postacrosomal sheath is seen to consist of two different portions separated by a circumferential groove in the cell membrane. The anterior part is composed of a homogeneous dense layer from which regularly arranged projections extend toward the cell membrane. The posterior part is composed of a dense granular or homogeneous material apposed to the inner aspect of the cell membrane. This layer is limited posteriorly by a close union of the cell membrane with the nuclear envelope via a dense homogeneous material. In the implantation fossa the two layers of the nuclear envelope are interconnected by regularly spaced linear structures. The centriole found in this region has a constant orientation with respect to the long axis of the flagellum, and a system of numbering the triplets is proposed. The coarse fibers of the flagellum are finely cross striated with a period of 40 A. Near the abaxial surface of the fibers every forth line is somewhat thicker than the others, thus demarcating a major period of 160 A with three intraperiod lines of which the middle one is slightly thicker than the others.—A somewhat regular mode of termination of the tubular elements of the flagellum in the end piece is described.
Necromancer: enhancing system throughput by animating dead cores

Aggressive technology scaling into the nanometer regime has led to a host of reliability challenges in the last several years. Unlike on-chip caches, which can be efficiently protected using conventional schemes, the general core area is less homogeneous and structured, making tolerating defects a much more challenging problem. Due to the lack of effective solutions, disabling non-functional cores is a common practice in industry to enhance manufacturing yield, which results in a significant reduction in system throughput. Although a faulty core cannot be trusted to correctly execute programs, we observe in this work that for most defects, when starting from a valid architectural state, execution traces on a defective core actually coarsely resemble those of fault-free executions. In light of this insight, we propose a robust and heterogeneous core coupling execution scheme, Necromancer, that exploits a functionally dead core to improve system throughput by supplying hints regarding high-level program behavior. We partition the cores in a conventional CMP system into multiple groups in which each group shares a lightweight core that can be substantially accelerated using these execution hints from a potentially dead core. To prevent this undead core from wandering too far from the correct path of execution, we dynamically resynchronize architectural state with the lightweight core. For a 4-core CMP system, on average, our approach enables the coupled core to achieve 78.5% of the performance of a fully functioning core. This defect tolerance and throughput enhancement comes at modest area and power overheads of 5.3% and 8.5%, respectively.
Opportunity lost? The social (dis)integration of Roma minority rights in post‐transition Hungary

In 1993 the Hungarian National Assembly enacted minority rights legislation that permitted minority self government (MSG) for Roma. The MSG mission is to take steps that assure social integration for Roma in the Hungarian society. This article introduces a mixed methodology of survey research and open‐ended interviews, to examine the effectiveness of Roma minority self‐government. It argues that social integration correlates to local MSG effectiveness and paradoxically may legitimize the social isolation of Roma.
Galvanic skin responses to motion pictures.

Summary.-Number and amplitude of galvanic skin responses (GSRs) during rest, during a bland and during a stressor film were examined in 20 male student Ss. The Zuckerman Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) was administered before and after both stressor and bland films. The greatest number and amplitude of GSRs were produced during the stress film and the least during the bland film. A direct relationship between number and amplitude of GSRs and MAACL scores was obtained. In addition, these GSR indexes paralleled variations in the content of the stressor film. These results sup port the interpretation that cognitive factors are important in understanding mechanisms of psychological stress.
Multiple-channel detection in active sensing

The problem of detecting the presence of a known signal in multiple channels of additive noise, such as occurs in active radar with a single transmitter and multiple geographically distributed receivers, is addressed via coherent multiple-channel techniques. The transmitted signal replica is treated as one channel in a suitable M-channel detector with the remaining M - 1 channels comprised of data from the receivers. To accommodate this approach, an invariance result for the distribution of the eigenvalues of a Gram matrix is derived. The result implies that false alarm probabilities for any detector based on a function of the eigenvalues are not changed if one data channel contains a signal replica, provided that the other M - 1 channels only Gaussian noise and all channels are independent.
Child maltreatment in families experiencing domestic violence.

This study examined the association between physical domestic violence (PDV) and reported child maltreatment in a cohort of children at risk for maltreatment. Participants were 219 6- to 7-year-old children and their caregivers. PDV was measured by combining caregivers' self-reports and children's reports, while child maltreatment was based on state Division of Social Services Central Registry records. Among 219 child-caregiver pairs studied, 42 (19.2%) had at least one maltreatment report in the 2 years following the interviews. PDV consistently predicted child maltreatment, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 2.96 to 3.46. In addition, we investigated interactions between PDV and other predictors of child maltreatment. Among Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) participants, PDV was highly associated with child maltreatment. However, this pattern was not observed among subjects who did not have AFDC. There is an increased incidence of child maltreatment reports in families experiencing PDV. AFDC participation intensified the probability of child maltreatment in the presence of PDV. Findings also suggest that in households experiencing PDV, social supports may protect children from maltreatment. Language: en
Penetrating trauma to the tricuspid valve and ventricular septum: Delayed repair

Penetrating cardiac trauma can result in a wide range of injuries to intracardiac structures. Missile injury, in particular, can cause damage in more than one cardiac chamber that may be difficult to identify at initial emergent operation. We report a case of late repair of traumatic ventricular septal defect and tricuspid valve perforation from gunshot wound. This case illustrates the importance of thorough examination of intracardiac anatomy during emergent and delayed repair for penetrating cardiac trauma.
Frequency dependence of the unilateral gain in bipolar transistors

The frequency dependence of the current gain and the unilateral gain in advanced bipolar transistors is analyzed. A GaAlAs/GaAs heterostructure bipolar transistor (HBT) is used as an example to show that the extrinsic parasitics still dominate the gain rolloff. Transit-time effects, even though they are a significant component of the time constants that determine the f/sub T/ and f/sub max/ of transistors, do not cause a change in the rolloff of unilateral gain with a frequency from 6 to 12 dB/octave in these advanced devices. Devices with very large transit times, and hence low f/sub T/ and f/sub max/ may, however, exhibit the rolloff change if designed to have a very low fringing capacitance and other parasitics. >
The role of calcium in secretion of inflammatory mediators from neutrophils

Abstract We have found that cytochalasin B-treated human PMN respond to surface stimulation in the presence of saturating concentrations of EGTA or Mg · EGTA. It is extremely unlikely that extracellular divalent cations or, by implication, an influx of divalent cations is an obligate requirement for stimulation of PMN. An obligate requirement for mobilization of intracellular calcium and action of calmodulin was suggested by the effects of TMB-8 and stelazine.
Randomly weighted sums of subexponential random variables with application to capital allocation

We are interested in the tail behavior of the randomly weighted sum $ \sum _{i=1}^{n}\theta _{i}X_{i}$ , in which the primary random variables X 1, …, X n are real valued, independent and subexponentially distributed, while the random weights 𝜃 1, …, 𝜃 n are nonnegative and arbitrarily dependent, but independent of X 1, …, X n . For various important cases, we prove that the tail probability of $\sum _{i=1}^{n}\theta _{i}X_{i}$ is asymptotically equivalent to the sum of the tail probabilities of 𝜃 1 X 1, …, 𝜃 n X n , which complies with the principle of a single big jump. An application to capital allocation is proposed.
HPLC isolation and GC-MS identification of genistein, daidzein, and coumestrol from unhydrolyzed soybean root extracts

Abstract The phenolic acid derivatives genistein, daidzein, and coumestrol have been identified for the first time in unhydrolyzed soybean ( Glycine max “Wells II”) root extracts. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to separate and isolate eluant fractions from dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) extracts of fresh soybean roots. The eluant fractions were concentrated by freeze drying, then subjected to ultraviolet (UV) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis for positive identification of each compound. The UV spectra of the compounds in methanol were observed from 200 to 450 nm. The GC-MS analysis included both direct probe analysis of the crystals and analysis of their trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives.
A model of collaboration: Southern Illinois Online Nursing Initiative

The air in the room was expectant. Seven educators sat in the room waiting to hear the decision of the Illinois Board of Nursing. Then finally, the approval was granted. The Southern Illinois Online Nursing Initiative (SIONI) was given the green light. The process, which began approximately 2 years earlier, involved a multitude of hard work, dedication to their institutions' instructional philosophies, and the fine-tuning of deep-rooted policies for the advancement of the student. In the beginning, the task was to assess and quantify the need for additional registered nurses in the Southern Illinois region. This was completed by performing a regional labor market supply and demand analysis (which was also necessary to obtain approval from the Illinois Community
Replicative senescence of activated human hepatic stellate cells is accompanied by a pronounced inflammatory but less fibrogenic phenotype

Limited proliferative capacity is a characteristic of most normal human cells and results in a growth-arrested state, called replicative senescence. Functional expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit (human telomerase reverse transcriptase; hTERT) in human activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) rescues them from death with immortalization and maintains an activated HSC phenotype. The aim of this study was to evaluate alterations in gene and protein expression of in vitro aged human activated HSCs and to define the pathway by which senescent-activated HSCs are eliminated in culture. Altered patterns of gene expression in senescent human HSCs were assessed using DNA microarray analysis and compared with early passage HSCs or hTERT immortalized HSCs. Senescent HSCs showed higher expression of inflammation and stress-associated genes as compared with early passage HSCs. Senescent HSCs expressed reduced levels of extracellular matrix proteins, including collagens, tenascin, and fibronectin. TUNEL staining of senescent HSCs showed approximately 21% positive cells, indicating DNA fragmentation and apoptosis. Apoptosis involved the mitochondrial pathway with decreased levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L) protein, release of cytochrome c, and increased caspase-3 activity. In contrast, 4% to 5% of early activated HSCs or telomerase positive HSCs were TUNEL positive. In conclusion, cultured human HSCs undergo a switch from a fibrogenic to an inflammatory phenotype, suggesting that senescent human HSCs might modulate chronic wound healing processes. Maintenance of telomere length represents an important survival factor for activated human HSCs.
Diagnosing and Treating Patients with Refractory Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

One of the clinician's most difficult tasks is to successfully care for patients with painful and refractory functional gastrointestinal disorders. Because the diagnosis of these disorders is never...
Expression and Characterization of a Murine Enzyme Able to Cleave β-Carotene: THE FORMATION OF RETINOIDS

Because animals are not able to synthesize retinoids de novo, ultimately they must derive them from dietary provitamin A carotenoids through a process known as carotene cleavage. The enzyme responsible for catalyzing carotene cleavage (β-carotene 15,15′-dioxygenase) has been characterized primarily in rat intestinal scrapings. Using a recently reported cDNA sequence for a carotene cleavage enzyme fromDrosophila, we identified a cDNA encoding a mouse homolog of this enzyme. When the cDNA was expressed in eitherEscherichia coli or Chinese hamster ovary cells, expression conferred upon bacterial and Chinese hamster ovary cell homogenates the ability to cleave β-carotene to retinal. Several lines of evidence obtained upon kinetic analyses of the recombinant enzyme suggested that carotene cleavage enzyme interacts with other proteins present within cell or tissue homogenates. This was confirmed by pull-down experiments upon incubation of recombinant enzyme with tissue 12,000 ×g supernatants. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry analysis of pulled-down proteins indicates that an atypical testis-specific isoform of lactate dehydrogenase associates with recombinant carotene cleavage enzyme. mRNA transcripts for the carotene cleavage enzyme were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in mouse testes, liver, kidney, and intestine. In situ hybridization studies demonstrated that carotene cleavage enzyme is expressed prominently in maternal tissue surrounding the embryo but not in embryonic tissues at 7.5 and 8.5 days postcoitus. This work offers new insights for understanding the biochemistry of carotene cleavage to retinoids.
Intracellular signaling events in superoxide generation and adhesion of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus rafinesque, neutrophils to the extracellular matrix protein fibrinogen.

Abstract Activation of channel catfish neutrophils is essential if these cells are to participate in adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins or generate intracellular superoxide for killing of microbes. Various signaling pathways are required for these activities to occur. The objective of this study was to identify components of the signal transduction pathways in channel catfish neutrophils. A23187, bryostatin, and phorbol dibutyrate (PDBU) all induced catfish neutrophil adhesion to fibrinogen coated plates and the adhesion could be significantly reduced when neutrophils were pretreated with staurosporine (1×10 −7 M). Staurosporine was the only inhibitor used in the study that inhibited or reduced PDBU-induced adhesion of catfish neutrophils to fibrinogen. Phorbol dibutyrate at the concentrations used in the adhesion assay was the only stimulant that caused generation of intracellular superoxide and therefore was the only stimulant used in the remainder of the study. Aristolochic acid (1×10 −4 and 3×10 −5 M) + PDBU and staurosporine (1×10 −7 and 1× 10 −8 M) + PDBU caused a significant decrease (p≤0.05) in PDBU-induced intracellular oxygen generation. The role of protein kinase C and phospholipases in channel catfish neutrophil adhesion and superoxide generation are discussed.
Non-isothermal Laminar Flow of Gases through Cooled Tubes

Numerical solutions of the laminar-flow equations in differential form are presented for gas flows through cooled tubes. For nearly isothermal flow there is good agreement with available experimental data, as is also found for the case of a large amount of wall cooling. This correspondence along with a check on the satisfaction of the global momentum and energy constraints allowed an appraisal of the effect of wall cooling on flow through tubes. In general, the effect of wall cooling was to decrease the wall friction and the change in pressure along tubes, but the average heat-transfer coefficient did not vary much.
Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Binds to TRPV1 and Mediates NGF-stimulated TRPV1 Trafficking to the Plasma Membrane

Sensitization of the pain-transducing ion channel TRPV1 underlies thermal hyperalgesia by proalgesic agents such as nerve growth factor (NGF). The currently accepted model is that the NGF-mediated increase in TRPV1 function during hyperalgesia utilizes activation of phospholipase C (PLC) to cleave PIP2, proposed to tonically inhibit TRPV1. In this study, we tested the PLC model and found two lines of evidence that directly challenge its validity: (1) polylysine, a cationic phosphoinositide sequestering agent, inhibited TRPV1 instead of potentiating it, and (2) direct application of PIP2 to inside-out excised patches dramatically potentiated TRPV1. Furthermore, we show four types of experiments indicating that PI3K is physically and functionally coupled to TRPV1: (1) the p85β subunit of PI3K interacted with the N-terminal region of TRPV1 in yeast 2-hybrid experiments, (2) PI3K-p85β coimmunoprecipitated with TRPV1 from both HEK293 cells and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons, (3) TRPV1 interacted with recombinant PI3K-p85 in vitro, and (4) wortmannin, a specific inhibitor of PI3K, completely abolished NGF-mediated sensitization in acutely dissociated DRG neurons. Finally, simultaneous electrophysiological and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy recordings demonstrate that NGF increased the number of channels in the plasma membrane. We propose a new model for NGF-mediated hyperalgesia in which physical coupling of TRPV1 and PI3K in a signal transduction complex facilitates trafficking of TRPV1 to the plasma membrane.
Spatio-temporal and process-oriented views of nitrite in the world ocean as recorded in the historical data set

Abstract As of December 1986, the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), Washington, DC, listed 113, 800 observations of nitrite concentrations ≥0.1 μ M in the world ocean (including adjacent seas). The selected nitrite concentrations range up to 9.4 μM but exhibit a 50th percentile near 0.2 μM. The observations are most frequent along the margins of the oceans and occur with decreasing frequency toward the poles. Higher nitrite concentrations are restricted to the upper 500 m of the water column, but the different ocean basins exhibit characteristic depth distributions. Some seasonality is discernible in the global and basin-specific nitrite distribution patterns, but possible sampling biases hamper definitive interpretation. Some nitrite in the water column may derive from the ocean boundaries. Although nitrite often appears in the general proximity of river mouths, it is not directly related to very low salinity. The occurrence of higher nitrite concentrations throughout water columns shallower than the 300 m depth contour suggests a contributing benthic source. Nitrite concentrations throughout the water column over bottom depths commonly associated with continental slopes are reduced compared to adjacent bottom depths. Biologically mediated accumulation of nitrite within the water column of the world ocean is attributed to assimilatory nitrate reduction, dissimilatory nitrate reduction or nitrification (principally ammonia-based). These different processes often occur under a restricted set of environmental conditions that can be used to separate the historical nitrite observations into zones of probable cause. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction and nitrification below the euphotic zone are distinguished most clearly. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction is identified not only in hypoxic water columns but also above reducing sediments that create nitrate deficits in oxic water columns. The ability to discriminate contributing processes is not exact, but the nitrite distribution patterns derived from the application of the environmental criteria provide some insight into the spatial and temporal variation that accompanies nitrogen cycling in the world ocean.
Uncertainty on PIV mean and fluctuating velocity due to bias and random errors

Particle image velocimetry is a powerful and flexible fluid velocity measurement tool. In spite of its widespread use, the uncertainty of PIV measurements has not been sufficiently addressed to date. The calculation and propagation of local, instantaneous uncertainties on PIV results into the measured mean and Reynolds stresses are demonstrated for four PIV error sources that impact uncertainty through the vector computation: particle image density, diameter, displacement and velocity gradients. For the purpose of this demonstration, velocity data are acquired in a rectangular jet. Hot-wire measurements are compared to PIV measurements with velocity fields computed using two PIV algorithms. Local uncertainty on the velocity mean and Reynolds stress for these algorithms are automatically estimated using a previously published method. Previous work has shown that PIV measurements can become ‘noisy’ in regions of high shear as well as regions of small displacement. This paper also demonstrates the impact of these effects by comparing PIV data to data acquired using hot-wire anemometry, which does not suffer from the same issues. It is confirmed that flow gradients, large particle images and insufficient particle image displacements can result in elevated measurements of turbulence levels. The uncertainty surface method accurately estimates the difference between hot-wire and PIV measurements for most cases. The uncertainty based on each algorithm is found to be unique, motivating the use of algorithm-specific uncertainty estimates.
Reformulating US food aid policy for development

Abstract One of the most fundamental questions emerging from recent scrutiny of US foreign assistance efforts is whether the PL 480 food aid programme is making a significant, positive contribution to the economic and social development of poorer nations. Despite the validity of certain past criticisms of food aid as a development vehicle, it is the premise of this paper that US food assistance CAN have a positive developmental impact but that this will require reformulation of policy goals, redesign of programme components, and reorganization of administrative structures. Seven basic policy and programme design questions are addressed herein: What should be the goals of food aid? Who should receive food aid? How much aid should be given? Which kind of food should be given? Under what terms should food aid be given? What delivery systems should be used? How should the aid effort be organized? It is argued that the current (but temporary) respite from serious food deficits in many developing countries has provided an ideal opportunity for the US Government to reevaluate the current PL 480 programme and to incorporate the above concerns into a rational and comprehensive, developmental food aid policy.
RETENTION OF ANTIMELANOMA EFFECT OF POLYINOSINIC-POLYCYTIDYLIC ACID IN NEONATALLY THYMECTOMIZED, IRRADIATED, LEUKOPENIC MICE

Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (PIC), a synthetic polyribonucleotide, inhibits the growth of B16 malignant melanoma in C57BL/6 mice. Since PIC has been reported to augment immune responses, we tested the hypothesis that the antitutmor effect of PIC against B16 melanoma is via immune stimulation. Mice were neonatally thymectomized or neonatally thymectomized and subsequently irradiated to suppress's their immune reactivity. In such animals PIC retained its ability to inhibit the growth of B16 melanoma, in the face of profound leukopenia and lymphopenia, suggesting that its antimelanoma effect is probably not mediated by augmentation of the host's immune antitumor response.
Experimental Verification of an Improved Elastic-Plastic Static Friction Model Including Roughness Effects

An experimental study was performed to measure the static friction coefficient under different experimental conditions. These include different surface roughness conditions, the effect of dwell time, the effect of acceleration (sliding velocity) as well as the presence of traces of lubricant and wear debris at the interface. The static friction tester provides accurate measurement of friction, normal and lateral forces at the interface (using a high dynamic bandwidth piezoelectric force transducer) as well as precise motion control and measurement of the interface motion. The experimental measurements were subsequently compared with an improved elastic-plastic rough surface static friction model, and it was found that the model captures the experimental measurements well, especially in terms of surface roughness. However, the data also shows the limitations of the model as it fails to accurately capture the effects of experimental conditions such as the presence of wear debris and start up velocity.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Exact Signal Model and New Carrier Frequency Offset Compensation Scheme for OFDM

Carrier frequency offset (CFO) causes spectrum misalignment of transmitter and receiver filters. This misalignment leads to energy loss and distortion of received signal, resulting in performance degradation of the whole system. However, these issues are often overlooked by existing works. This paper presents an exact signal model for OFDM that takes into account the CFO-induced spectral misalignment and related aliasing effects. Incorporating these practical issues, we also propose a new preamble structure and a new CFO compensation approach to mitigate their negative effects. Theoretical analysis and simulation results substantiate the importance of the exact signal model and the advantage of the proposed CFO compensation scheme.
Bioavailability of Sulfonamide Suspensions I: Dissolution Profiles of Sulfamethizole Using Paddle Method

A comparative bioavailability study was performed using two commercially available, chemically equivalent brands of sulfamethizole suspension. One gram of each suspension was administered to 12 different subjects following a completely randomized crossover design. Serum levels and derived pharmacokinetic parameters were compared statistically. There were no significant differences in the extent of sulfamethizole absorption from the two suspensions as evidenced by the area under the serum level--time curves. Significant differences (p less than 0.05) in the mean serum levels at 0.5 and 0.75 hr and differences in Cmax and tmax indicated that the absorption rate differed for the two products. In vitro tests including particle-size analysis and dissolution studies were performed. The size--frequency distribution of particles in the suspensions was studied using a resistance particle counter. The dissolution characteristics of the two products were studied using the Food and Drug Administration's paddle method and the spin-filter apparatus. Suspension A had a significantly greater amount of drug dissolved at 15 and 30 min using either method. It also had a greater percentage of particles at the smaller size range, indicating that the greater dissolution rate may be related directly to the decreased particle size. A comparison of the in vivo and in vitro results demonstrated a definite rank-order correlation between the dissolution performance of the two suspensions and the in vivo parameters reflecting the absorption rate. Suspension A had a greater amount of drug dissolved at 15 and 30 min and resulted in higher serum levels at 0.5 and 0.75 hr, a higher Cmax, and a shorter tmax.
Use of Synthetic Aperture Radar in Finescale Surface Analysis of Synoptic-Scale Fronts at Sea

The viability of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) as a tool for finescale marine meteorological surface analyses of synoptic-scale fronts is demonstrated. In particular, it is shown that SAR can reveal the presence of, and the mesoscale and microscale substructures associated with, synoptic-scale cold fronts, warm fronts, occluded fronts, and secluded fronts. The basis for these findings is the analysis of some 6000 RADARSAT-1 SAR images from the Gulf of Alaska and from off the east coast of North America. This analysis yielded 158 cases of well-defined frontal signatures: 22 warm fronts, 37 cold fronts, 3 stationary fronts, 32 occluded fronts, and 64 secluded fronts. The potential synergies between SAR and a range of other data sources are discussed for representative fronts of each type.