cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mutational analysis of the mouse somatostatin receptor type 5 gene promoter.

We have previously characterized the structure of the murine somatostatin receptor type 5 gene (sst5). Initial transient transfection studies in pituitary somatolactotropes (GH3) mapped the promoter activity of this gene to a region 290 bp upstream of the transcription start site. The current study identifies the sst5 promoter region critical for basal activity. A series of deletions was generated, and promoter activity was localized to a region between −83 and −19. Similar promoter deletion patterns were evident in five pituitary cell types. Seven 10-bp transversion mutations encompassing the region between −83 and −19 were generated, and functional activity was assessed. Promoter activity was reduced by the mutations spanning −67 to −47 compared with the wild-type construct. Another mutation between −26 and −17 resulted in promoter activity reduction in GH3 cells, but not TtT-97 thyrotropes. Deoxyribonuclease I protection analysis of the sst5 promoter region between −208/+47 was performed using GH3 and ...
Selective Reinforcement Learning Deficits in Schizophrenia Support Predictions from Computational Models of Striatal-Cortical Dysfunction

Background Rewards and punishments may make distinct contributions to learning via separate striatal-cortical pathways. We investigated whether fronto-striatal dysfunction in schizophrenia (SZ) is characterized by selective impairment in either reward- (Go) or punishment-driven (NoGo) learning. Methods We administered two versions of a probabilistic selection task to 40 schizophrenia patients and 31 control subjects, using difficult to verbalize stimuli (experiment 1) and nameable objects (experiment 2). In an acquisition phase, participants learned to choose between three different stimulus pairs (AB, CD, EF) presented in random order, based on probabilistic feedback (80%, 70%, 60%). We used analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to assess the effects of group and reinforcement probability on two measures of contingency learning. To characterize the preference of subjects for choosing the most rewarded stimulus and avoiding the most punished stimulus, we subsequently tested participants with novel pairs of stimuli involving either A or B, providing no feedback. Results Control subjects demonstrated superior performance during the first 40 acquisition trials in each of the 80% and 70% conditions versus the 60% condition; patients showed similarly impaired ( Conclusions The results of these experiments provide additional evidence for the presence of deficits in reinforcement learning in SZ, suggesting that reward-driven learning may be more profoundly impaired than punishment-driven learning.
Neuroscience: Optical control of reward.

Is it wishful thinking that the behaviour of an organism as complex as a mouse might be controlled by modulating its intracellular signalling with light? No: this is just what researchers have achieved with an elegant technique. Ion channels driven by light have provided electrophysiologists with unprecedented control over the activity state of neurons. Here, Deisseroth and colleagues introduce new molecules that offer a similar level of control over signalling pathways to biochemists. Opsin/GPCR chimaeras were engineered, enabling the authors to modulate G-protein activity via light, which in turn could influence neuronal firing. Expressed in vivo, activating these molecules could drive conditioned place preference in behaving mice.
Acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC): Production, Postharvest Handling, Nutrition, and Biological Activity

Acerola is a cherry-like tropical fruit that is very popular in Central America, the Caribbean countries (especially in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti), and Brazil. This fruit, which has a red color at complete maturity, is valued mostly for its vitamin C content. Recent research showed that in addition to vitamin C, acerola fruit may be a good source of phytochemicals such as anthocyanins, nonanthocyanin phenolic compounds, and dietary carotenoids. Because these compounds are known as bioactive due to their strong antioxidant capacity, acerola fruit is attracting the attention of food researchers and the exotic fruit market. One of the problems faced by acerola growers and processors is that acerola fruit is highly perishable at complete maturity, resulting in serious quality losses during and after harvest. Therefore, the harvest and the postharvest handling are very important to obtain fruits with acceptable quality. The first part of this review is a complete analysis of the available inform...
The efficacy of antifungal agents incorporated into a facial prosthetic silicone elastomer

Microbiologic isolation techniques and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine whether a fungus is associated with the black discoloration of some silicone nasal prostheses. Colonies of fungal growth were seen on scanning electron micrographs of the affected areas of a nasal prosthesis, and a fungus belonging to the genus Penicillium was isolated from similar areas. Disk diffusion tests determined that the antifungal agent clotrimazole, when incorporated into silicone samples, was effective in inhibiting in vitro growth of the fungus.
Reid on the moral sense

Some interpret Reid's notion of a moral sense as merely analogical. Others understand it as a species of acquired perception. To understand Reid's account of the moral sense, we must draw from his theory of perception and his theory of aesthetic experience, each of which illuminate the nature and operation of the moral faculty. I argue that, on Reid's view, the moral faculty is neither affective nor rational, but representational. It is a discrete, basic, capacity for representing the real moral properties of humans and human conduct.
Damping of electromagnetic waves by small spheres suspended in an insulator

The intentional degradation of electromagnetic waves by their penetration into a medium composed of somewhat sparsely distributed energy-absorbing ferrite spheres suspended in an electrical insulator is investigated. The influence of wave frequency, sphere size, resistivity, and complex permeability on wave stopping power by such a composite is investigated analytically and related in equation form. Eddy currents are induced in the spheres by the applied magnetic field of the wave are dissipated by friction. Magnetic hysteresis phenomena cause additional losses. This results from the continual distortion of the crystalline structure of the Weiss domains and spin reorientation of the bound electrons induced by the waves. In general, the hysteresis phenomenon has a much greater sensitivity to the independent parameters than do eddy currents over the range of variables studied here. >
Speech processing aids for the deaf:An overview

Two major obstacles have hindered progress in the development of speech processing aids for the deaf. The first is a lack of basic knowledge as to how speech is acquired, produced, and perceived. The second is a paucity of objective, evaluative data on potentially useful aids. This paper reviews progress in the development of speech processing aids, both for speech perception and for speech training. Progress with training aids is quite promising and reasonably positive evaluative data are currently being obtained. The use of synthetic speech as a research tool in simulating speech problems is discussed and preliminary simulation data are presented.
Enrichment and expansion with nanoscale artificial antigen presenting cells for T cell adoptive immunotherapy

Meeting abstracts Adoptive T cell therapy can mediate durable regression of cancer [[1][1]]. While pre-existing anti-tumor responses can only be cultured from a minority of cancer patients [[2][2]], T cells specific for a wide variety of tumor antigens can be generated by stimulation of naive
Cysteinyl leukotrienes induce IL-4 release from cord blood-derived human eosinophils.

Abstract Background: Eosinophils contain preformed stores of IL-4 within their cytoplasmic granules, but physiologic stimuli to release IL-4 from eosinophils are not yet defined. Objective: We evaluated whether cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) could elicit IL-4 release from eosinophils. Methods: We used a dual-antibody capture and detection assay (EliCell) for IL-4 release and used eosinophils differentiated in vitro from human cord blood-derived progenitors. Results: Leukotriene (LT) C 4 , LTD 4 , and LTE 4 each elicited the rapid, vesicular transport-mediated, dose- and time-dependent release of IL-4 from eosinophils. Both LTD 4 and LTE 4 evoked similar and earlier IL-4 release than LTC 4 . LTC 4 did not act directly but only after conversion to LTD 4 because an inhibitor of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, acivicin, blocked LTC 4 -induced IL-4 release. MK571 and LY171833, receptor antagonists for CysLT 1 and not CysLT 2 , and pertussis toxin inhibited LTC 4 -, LTD 4 -, and LTE 4 -induced IL-4 release. Cord blood-differentiated eosinophils contained CysLT 1 protein detectable by means of immunoblotting. Conclusion: CysLTs acting through G i protein-coupled and MK571- and LY171833-inhibitable receptors on cord blood-derived human eosinophils can act as autocrine or paracrine mediators to stimulate the rapid, nonexocytotic release of preformed IL-4. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002;109:975-9.)
Enhanced Mobile Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Underwater Acoustic Communications

This paper focuses on mobile multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) underwater acoustic communications (UAC) over double-selective channels subject to both intersymbol interference and Doppler scaling effects. Temporal resampling is implemented to effectively convert the Doppler scaling effects to Doppler frequency shifts. Under the assumption that the channels between all the transmitter and receiver pairs experience the same Doppler frequency, a variation of the recently proposed generalization of the sparse learning via iterative minimization (GoSLIM) algorithm, referred to as GoSLIM-V, is employed to estimate the frequency modulated acoustic channels. GoSLIM-V is user parameter free and is easy to use in practical applications. This paper also considers turbo equalization for retrieving the transmitted signal. In particular, this paper reviews the linear minimum mean-squared error (LMMSE) based soft-input soft-output equalizer involved in the turbo equalization scheme and adopts a fast implementation of the equalizer that achieves negligible detection performance degradation compared to its direct implementation counterpart. The effectiveness of the considered MIMO UAC scheme is demonstrated using both simulated data and measurements recently acquired during the MACE10 in-water experiment.
Assessment of the chemical changes induced in human melanoma cells by boric acid treatment using infrared imaging.

Boron is found in everyday foods and drinking water in trace quantities. Boron exists as boric acid (BA) within plants and animals, where low levels have been linked to cancer incidence. However, this correlation is not well characterized. In this study, we examined the chemical and morphological effects of BA on human skin melanoma cells (SK-MEL28) using Fourier Transform InfraRed Imaging (FTIRI) with a Focal Plane Array (FPA) detector. Cells were grown under concentrations of BA ranging from 0 to 50 mM. Cell viability was determined after 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 days using trypan blue staining. With FTIRI, images of approximately twenty cells per time point per condition were collected. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate changes in cell composition, with particular focus on the lipid, protein, and nucleic acid spectral components. Results from trypan blue staining revealed decreased cell viability as BA concentration increased. FTIRI data indicated that the protein and lipid contents (as indicated by the lipid/protein ratio) did not undergo substantial changes due to BA treatment. In contrast, the nucleic acid/protein ratio significantly decreased with BA treatment. PCA results showed an increase in β-sheet protein at higher concentrations of BA (12.5, 25, and 50 mM). Together, these results suggest that high concentrations of BA have an anti-proliferative effect and show signs consistent with apoptosis.
Cost-Effectiveness of 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-Coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) Reductase Inhibitor Therapy in the Managed Care Era

More than $100 billion is spent in the United States each year on cardiovascular disease, primarily for hospitalizations and revascularization procedures. This is more than for any other disease state. As the clinical practice of medicine shifts from the paradigm of private practice to the managed care environment, cost-effectiveness is becoming increasingly important. A primary measure in analyzing cost-effectiveness is the cost-effectiveness ratio, or the dollar cost per unit of improvement for a given expenditure. This measure allows healthcare planners to compare completely different interventions. With approximately 52 million adult U.S. citizens having elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, lipid-lowering therapy---with diet or 3-hydroxy-3methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors---is an important consideration for primary care physicians and managed care providers. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III indicates that 75-88% of adults who have coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factors or CAD require only a moderate (20--30%) reduction in LDL cholesterol levels to reach National Cholesterol Education Program goals. The clinical literature shows that all 4 of the currently available HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors can provide appropriate, moderate LDL cholesterol reductions within their recommended dosage ranges. For the majority of patients who need a 20--30% reduction in LDL cholesterol, fluvastatin 20 or 40 mg once daily provides the most cost-effective HMG-CoA therapy, expressed as cost of therapy per 1% LDL cholesterol reduction. For patients who need a >30% LDL cholesterol reduction, a high-dose HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (e.g., simvastatin 20 or 40 mg/day) or a combination of a lower-dose HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor and a bile acid resin is the preferred initial therapy. Although a true cost-effectiveness analysis would incorporate morbidity and mortality data from clinical trials, analysis using intermediate endpoints, such as LDL cholesterol reduction, suggests that fluvastatin is the preferred initial HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor for the treatment of moderate hyperlipidemia.
STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE NUMBER OF RECOMBINATION EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF A SAMPLE OF DNA SEQUENCES

ABSTRACT Some statistical properties of samples of DNA sequences are studied under an infinite-site neutral model with recombination. The two quantities of interest are R , the number of recombination events in the history of a sample of sequences, and R M , the number of recombination events that can be parsimoniously inferred from a sample of sequences. Formulas are derived for the mean and variance of R . In contrast to R, R M can be determined from the sample. Since no formulas are known for the mean and variance of R M , they are estimated with Monte Carlo simulations. It is found that R M is often much less than R , therefore, the number of recombination events may be greatly under-estimated in a parsimonious reconstruction of the history of a sample. The statistic R M can be used to estimate the product of the recombination rate and the population size or, if the recombination rate is known, to estimate the population size. To illustrate this, DNA sequences from the Adh region of Drosophila melanogaster are used to estimate the effective population size of this species.
Myelin—More than Insulation

Myelin is often compared to electrical insulation on nerve fibers. However, nerve impulses are not transmitted through neuronal axons the way electrons are conducted through a copper wire, and the myelin sheath is far more than an insulator. Myelin fundamentally changes the way neural impulses (information) are generated and transmitted, and its damage causes dysfunction in many nervous system disorders including multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, spinal cord injury, and cognitive impairments. A detailed understanding of myelin structure is therefore imperative, but is lacking. On page 319 of this issue, Tomassy et al. ( 1 ) provide a high-resolution global view of myelin structure spanning the six layers of mammalian cerebral cortex. The findings are likely to spark new concepts about how information is transmitted and integrated in the brain.
DIADS: a problem diagnosis tool for databases and storage area networks

Many enterprise environments have databases running on network-attached storage infrastructure (referred to as Storage Area Networks or SANs). Both the database and the SAN are complex subsystems that are managed by separate teams of administrators. As often as not, database administrators have limited understanding of SAN configuration and behavior, and limited visibility into the SAN's run-time performance; and vice versa for the SAN administrators. Diagnosing the cause of performance problems is a challenging exercise in these environments. We propose to remedy the situation through a novel tool, called Diads, for database and SAN problem diagnosis. This demonstration proposal summarizes the technical innovations in Diads: (i) a powerful abstraction called Annotated Plan Graphs (APGs) that ties together the execution path of queries in the database and the SAN using low-overhead monitoring data, and (ii) a diagnosis workflow that combines domain-specific knowledge with machine-learning techniques. The scenarios presented in the demonstration are also described.
Modeling Mobility-Assisted Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks

Exploiting mobility to enhance the performance of wireless sensor networks (WSNs), in terms of connectivity, coverage, and lifetime elongation, has recently been the focus of several research studies. Mobility was adopted in two different ways; either using a network of mobile sensor nodes or deploying a few supplementary special mobile elements, usually referred to as mobile agents to help enhance connectivity and coverage. Different modes of operation (roles) were assigned to mobile agents including being a data relay, data collector, and data sink. In this paper we use a closed queueing network to model mobility and then evaluate data latency under all those roles. The proposed model provides powerful means to understand the effect of different parameters, like velocity and number of mobile agents as well as their movement strategy, on data latency.
The Design and Development of an Undercover Multipurpose Anti-spoofing Kit (UnMask)

This paper describes the design and development of a software system to support law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting email based crimes. It focuses on phishing scams which use emails to trick users into revealing personal data. The system described in this paper, called the undercover multipurpose anti-spoofing kit (UnMask), will enable investigators to reduce the time and effort needed for digital forensic investigations of email-based crimes. A novel aspect of UnMask is its use of a database to not only store information related to the email and its constituent parts (such as IP addresses, links, domain names), but also to organize a workflow to automatically launch UNIX tools to collect additional information from the Internet. The retrieved information is in turn added to the database. Reports can then be automatically generated according to the needs of the forensic investigator, including correlations across multiple email data stored in the database. UnMask is a working system. To the best of our knowledge, UnMask is the first comprehensive system that can automatically analyze emails and generate forensic reports that can be used for subsequent investigation and prosecution.
Geometry and structural history of the Mesozoic thrust belt in the Goodsprings district, southern Spring Mountains, Nevada

The geometry of Mesozoic thrust faults in the Goodsprings district is typical of the Mesozoic frontal thrust belt between Nevada and Canada in that the thrust plates have a decollement geometry. Each thrust fault carries a sequence of shallow-water marine carbonate rocks ranging from Middle Cambrian through Permian in age eastward over coeval rocks of a more cratonal facies. Unlike the general pattern in much of the thrust belt to the north, younger thrusts did not develop progressively eastward of older thrusts in the Goodsprings area. Spatial and temporal relations of thrust faults in the Goodsprings area are more like those in the nearby Mesozoic thrust belt of southeastern California, where younger thrust faults are superposed on, or reactivate, older ones. The three major west-dipping Mesozoic thrust faults in the Goodsprings district are, from west to east, the Green Monster, Keystone, and Contact thrusts. The trace of the Keystone thrust, which traverses the entire length of the Spring Mountains, has a westward recess in the Goodsprings area, within which remnants of the older Contact thrust plate are exposed structurally beneath the Keystone thrust fault. A complex system of east-trending structures, transverse to the regional strike of the thrust belt, occurs adjacent to the south side of the recess in the Keystone thrust trace and is genetically related to the emplacement of the Keystone thrust plate. This system of transverse structures was fundamentally controlled by a set of frontal and transverse ramps on which the Keystone plate was thrust over the Contact plate and the autochthon. The Green Monster thrust plate, which is also older than the Keystone plate, apparently was carried passively within the Keystone plate during movement on the Keystone thrust fault. Parts of the Contact and Keystone thrust plates appear to have moved over erosional surfaces.
Toward a Resolution of Methodological Dilemmas in Network Mapping

In mapping social networks, investigators have confronted the following choices in the selection of an instrument to assess networks: (1) qualitative versus quantitative approaches; (2) subjective versus objective criteria; (3) synchronic versus diachronic descriptions. Evolving out of fieldwork with discharged mental patients, the Network Analysis Profile was designed to resolve these methodological dilemmas. Although it has not been completely successful in meeting this goal, the Network Analysis Profile offers distinct advantages over other instruments. A description and an illustration of its use are provided.
Early insulin treatment in type 2 diabetes: what are the pros?

The prevalence of diabetes in the world is growing at an unprecedented rate and rapidly becoming a health concern and burden in both developed and developing countries (1). In addition, we are now witnessing an upsurge in the incidence of type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents, with the potential of translating into a future catastrophic disease burden as vascular complications of the disease begin affecting a younger population. Although there may be contention regarding the impact of lowering glycemia on macrovascular disease risk, there is strong consensus of the definite benefits of lowering blood glucose to reduce the risk of retinopathy and nephropathy in either type 1 or type 2 diabetes (2,3). Despite supporting data and multiple guidelines advanced by professional organizations, overall glycemic control falls far below expectations (4). Overall, <36% of individuals with diabetes are at recommended glycemic targets, with the most difficult-to-control cases represented by insulin-deficient individuals on insulin therapy to manage their diabetes (4). Furthermore, as β-cell dysfunction progresses over time, many patients with type 2 diabetes, treated with oral agents, fail to achieve or maintain adequate glycemic control. Unfortunately, in many of these cases, antiglycemic therapy is not adjusted or advanced, thereby exposing patients to prolonged hyperglycemia and the increased risk of diabetes-related complications. The term “clinical inertia,” which has come to define the lack of initiation, or intensification of therapy when clinically indicated (5), is most pronounced in the setting of insulin initiation. Subjects with type 2 diabetes, managed in a large integrated health care system, were initiated on additional blood glucose–lowering treatment only when the mean baseline A1C reached a value of 9.0% (6). Patients started on insulin had an even higher mean A1C of 9.6% and tended to have more severe baseline complications and comorbidities than those started on …
Respondents' Gender Differences and Disciplinary Actions: Beliefs as an Antecedent Variable in Research on Attribution

To test the assumption that men and women exhibit comparable beliefs regarding the effect of available disciplinary actions when attributional stimuli are minimized undergraduates were asked to assume the role of a supervisor and record their beliefs regarding the influence of 12 separate discipline actions on a subordinate whose performance had been evaluated as unsatisfactory. The potential for attributional stimuli was reduced by providing participants no information regarding the cause of the unsatisfactory performance or the gender of the subordinate. One-way multivariate analysis of variance of ratings on a 9-point scale by 47 female and 51 male undergraduates showed no differences between their beliefs about the effect of the separate disciplinary actions. Different beliefs as an antecedent variable in research on attributions was not supported and training may be an option to reduce differences in the disciplinary decisions ascribed to gender and the attributional process.
d-Cycloserine reduces neuropathic pain behavior through limbic NMDA-mediated circuitry

Human brain imaging studies suggest that chronic neuropathic pain has a strong emotional component that is mediated by medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity; in rodents, the mPFC is involved in emotional and cognitive aspects of behavior, including the extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning. Together, these findings suggest that the cortex may modulate the memory trace of pain. As D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist of the NMDA receptor, can enhance learning and potentiate the extinction of acquired fear, in the present study we tested its efficacy in neuropathic pain behavior. In rats with spared nerve injury (SNI), repeated daily oral administration of DCS reduced mechanical sensitivity of the injured limb in a dose-dependent manner; this effect continued for weeks after the cessation of DCS treatment. In addition, re-exposure to DCS further enhanced antinociceptive behavior. Repeated oral DCS administration also reduced cancer chemotherapy drug-induced neuropathic pain behavior. Infusions of DCS directly into the mPFC (especially within prelimbic cortex) or the amygdala (but not into thalamus, insula, or occipital cortex) acutely induced antinociception in SNI rats. The antinociceptive effect of intra-mPFC DCS infusions was mimicked by NMDA and glycine, and blocked by HA 966. In the mPFC of SNI rats, NR2B expression was down-regulated; however, this effect was reversed with repeated oral DCS. Lastly, infusions of DCS into mPFC reversed place avoidance behavior induced by mechanical stimulation of the injured paw in SNI rats. These findings indicate that limbic NMDA-mediated circuitry is involved in long-term reduction in neuropathic pain behavior.
UWB characteristics of creeping wave for RF localization around the human body

There is much current interest in wireless networking of sensors deployed on and around the human body, in view of many potential applications for health monitoring. In this paper, we conducted ultra-wide-band (UWB) measurements around human body and a phantom in order to develop angle based channel models for body area network (BAN) and to compare the measurement results in these two environments. By analyzing certain channel parameters such as, time-of-arrival (TOA), distance-measurement-error (DME), received signal strength (RSS) and total path-loss, we discuss the influencing factors when the signal traveling around the human body. We also analyze the influence of the human body on TOA ranging accuracy.
Neoclassical Sociology: From the End of Communism to the End of Classes1

American sociology marked the triumphalism of the immediate postwar period with its emblematic “end of ideology” thesis. Class struggle for an alternative socialist order was ruled an anachronism because capitalism and liberal democracy could effectively deliver expanded freedoms and improved living standards. America was as good as it gets while “communism” was the despised, totalitarian “other.” Protagonists of the “the end of ideology”—the most famous being Seymour Martin Lipset, Daniel Bell, and Philip Selznick—had themselves started out as unrepentant socialists in the 1930s. Their drift toward complacency, culminating in 1950s “functionalism,” was itself overtaken by the successor radicalism of the 1960s, a radicalism that pointed to the seamy side of U.S. capitalism and the limits of its “democracy.” This revolt against the end of ideology and its concomitant “anticommunism” inspired such commentators as Ivan Szelenyi and David Stark in the 1970s and 1980s to develop alternative class critiques of actually existing “communism.” They reconceptualized communism in more positive terms as “state socialism,” pointing to its potentialities as well as its limits. Szelenyi came to his (new) class analysis of state socialism by joining critical sociology drawn from the West to the critical theory of the Budapest school, while Stark’s interest
Lipid of normal and regenerating limb tissues of the adult newt, Diemictylus viridescens: acidic and non-acidic lipids, phospholipids, and cholesterol.

Cryostat-cut sections of unamputated and amputated-regenerating limbs of the adult newt were examined following the Nile blue test for acidic and non-acidic lipids, the acid hematein and plasmal tests for phospholipids, and a Schultz test for cholesterol. Triglycerides (Nile blue test) are prominent in dermis and macrophages: triglyceride droplets are scattered in epidermis, wound epithelium, and regeneration blastema. Fatty acids (Nile blue test) are present in all tissues of the normal and regenerating limb: nerve myelin contains relatively little free fatty acid, while macrophages appear to contain the least amount of this lipidic substance. Plasmalogens (plasmal test) are prominent in the myelin of nerves, and macrophages: a weak cytoplasmic reaction obtains in the epidermis, subcutaneous glands, striated muscle, tunics of blood vessels, wound epithelium, blastema cells, chondrocytes, perichondrium and periosteum. Mitochondria responding for cephalin, lecithin, and sphingomyelin (acid hematein test) are ubiquitously distributed among the cells and tissues of the normal and regenerating limb. These phosphatides are prominent in nerve myelin, macrophages, and in dermal droplets: a variable response obtains from the myofibrils of striated muscle. Cholesterol (Schultz test) was demonstrated only in nerve myelin and in macrophages associated with injured nerves. Particular attention was paid to the lipid responses of the regeneration blastema, and the conclusion was reached that not all of the lipid previously demonstrated with sudan dyes was characterized by the current series of lipid tests. A modified Nile blue sulfate test that promises greater specificity in distinguishing between acidic and non-acidic lipids is introduced.
Effect of the threshold detection property of photographic films on hologram linearity and efficiency

Optimum linearity, and maximum efficiency, for thin-amplitude and thin-phase holograms of small modulation depth are realized at different values of average exposure (bias). We utilize a threshold model for the photographic detection process to predict the bias values. These values are shown to be in agreement with available experimental results. For large modulation, the biasing point depends upon both modulation depth and average exposure.
Determining maximum stand density index in mixed species stands for strategic-scale stocking assessments

Stand density index (SDI), although developed for use in even-aged monocultures, has been used for assessing stand density in large-scale forest inventories containing diverse tree species and size distributions. To improve application of SDI in uneven-aged, mixed species stands present in large-scale forest inventories, trends in maximum SDI across diameter classes and species combinations were observed for eight common tree species of the United States. Additionally, the relationship between a stand's mean specific gravity of component trees and maximum SDI was explored. Results indicate that the maximum SDI that any particular species may attain is affected to varying degrees by the species composition of subject stands. A strong relationship was found between the mean specific gravity of all trees in a stand and the 99th percentile of the observed distribution of stand SDI's by classes of mean stand specific gravity. A model is proposed whereby the mean specific gravity of individual trees in a stand may serve as a predictor of a stand's maximum stocking potential, regardless of the stand's diameter distribution and species composition.
ATR protects the genome against CGG·CCG-repeat expansion in Fragile X premutation mice

Fragile X mental retardation syndrome is a repeat expansion disease caused by expansion of a CGG.CCG-repeat tract in the 5' UTR of the FMR1 gene. In humans, small expansions occur more frequently on paternal transmission while large expansions are exclusively maternal in origin. It has been suggested that expansion is the result of aberrant DNA replication, repair or recombination. To distinguish amongst these possibilities we crossed mice containing 120 CGG.CCG-repeats in the 5' UTR of the mouse Fmr1 gene to mice with mutations in ATR, a protein important in the cellular response to stalled replication forks and bulky DNA lesions. We show here that ATR heterozygosity results in increased expansion rates of maternally, but not paternally, transmitted alleles. In addition, age-related somatic expansions occurred in mice of both genders that were not seen in ATR wild-type animals. Some ATR-sensitive expansion occurs in postmitotic cells including haploid gametes suggesting that aberrant DNA repair is responsible. Our data suggest that two mechanisms of repeat expansion exist that may explain the small and large expansions seen in humans. In addition, our data provide an explanation for the maternal bias of large expansions in humans and the lower incidence of these expansions in mice.
Exploring Relationships between Watershed Properties and Holocene Loss-on-Ignition Records in High-Elevation Lakes, Southern Uinta Mountains, Utah, U.S.A

ABSTRACT Sediment cores were retrieved from 12 lakes in the southern Uinta Mountains ranging in elevation from 2960 to 3475 m. Organic content was determined by loss-on-ignition (LOI) at 1-cm intervals (n = 2850), corresponding to 20 to ∼100 yrs per sample. This data set was used to explore relationships between watershed variables and LOI records. Average LOI values are strongly correlated with lake elevation, elevation of the watershed, extent of late-lying snow and bare rock in the watershed, and the area of upstream lakes. Average LOI values are not significantly correlated with lake depth, or with lake or watershed area. The 12 LOI records can be visually divided into 3 groups with contrasting patterns: Steady, Trending, and Rising. Steady lakes have the lowest average LOI values, and are located in watersheds with the highest maximum elevations and the largest area of upstream lakes and late-lying snow. The most significant determinant on average LOI and LOI pattern is hydrologic through-flow as rev...
Detection of Blood Flow to the Brain by Radionuclide Cerebral Imaging

The Guidelines for the Determination of Death provide two separate diagnostic pathways, the clinical pathway and the irreversible ischemic pathway, by which diagnosis of clinically suspected brain death may be confirmed (President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 1981).
WizIE: A Best Practices Guided Development Environment for Information Extraction

Information extraction (IE) is becoming a critical building block in many enterprise applications. In order to satisfy the increasing text analytics demands of enterprise applications, it is crucial to enable developers with general computer science background to develop high quality IE extractors. In this demonstration, we present WizIE, an IE development environment intended to reduce the development life cycle and enable developers with little or no linguistic background to write high quality IE rules. WizIE provides an integrated wizard-like environment that guides IE developers step-by-step throughout the entire development process, based on best practices synthesized from the experience of expert developers. In addition, WizIE reduces the manual effort involved in performing key IE development tasks by offering automatic result explanation and rule discovery functionality. Preliminary results indicate that WizIE is a step forward towards enabling extractor development for novice IE developers.
Planning and the Two Coordinations, with Illustration in Urban Transit

It turns out, of course, that Mises was right. Thus the economist Robert Heilbroner concluded on the great debate over central economic planning. Yet for urban transit, researchers and planners still argue that central planning is necessary to coordinate the system. Do Mises and Hayek not apply to transit? Planners might associate the Hayekian learning with rarified economic models, and the Hayekian prescription with perfect competition. They might maintain that a policy of free competition for urban transit leads to numerous problems. But are such problems a failure of the Hayekian philosophy? Hayek's idea of the free economy was not atomistic exchange and mechanistic markets, but rather a system of voluntary planning embodied in the nexus of property, consent and contract. Hayek's line of reasoning points toward proprietary governance. Urban transit serves as a contextual example to clarify Hayekian thinking about planning and coordination.
Blogging through the music student teaching experience: Developing virtual communities of practice

Within educational settings, well-developed web-based social networking technologies such as interactive weblogs (blogs) can serve to effectively facilitate and mediate interactions among members of a “community of practice” (Chong, 2008; Wenger, White, & Smith, 2009). The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of an interactive class blog with a group of undergraduate students (N = 9) enrolled in an American music education student teaching seminar. Specific research questions concerned the alignment of the class blog posts with the three characteristics of the communities of practice model (Wenger, 1998). Analysis of the blog posts, comments, descriptive surveys, and a researcher journal demonstrate that the virtual community did indeed align with the community of practice model in terms of a shared focus on varied aspects of the student teaching experience, a pattern of virtual interactions that demonstrates the formation of a community, and a shared repertoire of resources.
Progeny allocation by the parasitoid Lespesia archippivora (Diptera: Tachinidae) in larvae of Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Field-collected Spodoptera exigua (Hubner) larvae always produce small brood sizes of the gregarious parasitoid Lespesia archippivora (Riley) (1–2 progeny). To further investigate this finding we characterized life history attributes of the parasitoid's offspring in different host instars in the laboratory. Changes in offspring fitness and mortality and rate of successful parasitization can indicate opportunities for tachinids to influence fitness of their progeny. Effects of host instar and parasitoid brood size on parasitoid survival, development, size, and fecundity were investigated. Fecundity was indirectly assessed by measuring parasitoid puparial weight; female puparial weight and egg load are positively correlated. L. archippivora is able to successfully parasitize all investigated instars of S. exigua . The percentage of hosts yielding puparia was highest (95.1%) in 4th instars; it was only 65.5% in prepupal stages of the host. Lower parasitoid emergence rates in younger host instars were caused by higher host survival or premature host mortality. Parasitoid puparial weight decreased with increasing brood size but was not affected by host instar when equal brood sizes were compared. Parasitoid puparial weight from broods of 2 offspring was significantly reduced in broods of 2 female progeny compared with that of females from mixed sex broods of 2 progeny. Progeny allocation of L. archippivora and fitness consequences associated with that allocation are independent of host size. We conclude that by consistently allotting small broods to hosts, L. archippivora adults may reduce strong competition between offspring and maximize successful parasitization, thereby resulting in highly fit females.
The production of amylase by some thermophilic fungi.

(1969). The Production of Amylase by Some Thermophilic Fungi. Mycologia: Vol. 61, No. 6, pp. 1171-1175.
Three new species of Smittium (Trichomycetes) with notes on range extensions.

Three new species of Smittium (Harpellales) are described from the hindguts of dipteran larvae collected near Gothic, Colorado. Smittium perforatum, from Chironomidae, is the second species of the genus known to penetrate the gut cuticle. Smittium coloradense was dissected from chironomids and possibly from simuliids. Tipulid larvae are the hosts for S. tipulidarum, which was cultured axenically. The range of S. pusillum and S. typhellum is extended from France to the United States.
Health Care Providers’ Perspectives of an Intervention Designed to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates in Family Medicine Residency Clinics

The purpose of this study was to obtain feedback from family medicine residents and clinic nurses regarding a colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) intervention. Focus groups were used to ask participants three questions about their perceptions of the intervention and subsequent patient screening behaviors. Content analysis and constant comparison were used to yield two meaningful themes from the participant responses: patient-specific issues and study design issues. Patient-specific issues included: lack of education and fear, finances and insurance coverage, and compliance. Study design issues included: lack of time, a need for reminders to discuss CRCS with patients, quality of the nurse’s role, and a need for better clinical staff education and awareness. Results show ways to significantly improve future implementation of the CRCS intervention. Ultimately, future use of clinic-based CRCS interventions could be vastly improved by utilizing strategies to promote teamwork and increase the sense of mutual ownership among clinic staff.
A framework for facilitating video-mediated reflection: Supporting preservice teachers as they create ‘warranted assertabilities’ about literacy teaching and learning

Abstract Reflection is a widely used pedagogy in teacher education. Although there is consensus that reflection is important for preservice teacher learning, the large corpus of empirical literature on reflection seems not to agree on what reflection is or how to support preservice teachers as they reflect. This study examined the moves made by a teacher educator as she facilitated video-mediated reflection with 15 preservice teachers. The findings describe those moves and how they helped the preservice teachers to create ‘warranted assertabilities’ about literacy teaching and learning. A framework for facilitating reflection is offered.
Pneumatic transport exacerbates interference of room air contamination in blood gas samples

Objective To characterize and control the potential interference to P(O2) determinations when blood contaminated with air is sent via a pneumatic tube system (PTS). Design Both tonometered blood at P(O2)s of 65, 75, 142, and 339 mm Hg and arterial blood gas samples from patients with baseline P(O2)s from 70 to 400 mm Hg were analyzed for P(O2) to determine possible effects of air contamination from PTS transport. Setting A large teaching hospital in which a variety of personnel routinely send samples to the laboratory by PTS transport. Patients Twenty patients under anesthesia for elective surgery and 21 patients in an intensive care unit who had a wide range of P(O2)s. Several additional patients with a preexisting lung pathology likely to cause hypoxemia were selected to provide samples with low P(O2)s. Main outcome measures Measurement of bias in P(O2) between samples sent via PTS and samples walked to the laboratory. Results Interference from air contamination was worse after PTS transport compared with manual transport of the specimen. Over a wide range, the P(O2) in specimens after PTS transport tended toward 160 mm Hg. Samples from hypoxemic patients were prone to errors in P(O2) that could have resulted in clinical misinterpretation; 5 of 10 samples with a baseline P(O2) less than 85 mm Hg had increases of 10 mm Hg or more when contaminated with air. Cooling samples with high P(O2)s minimized changes to P(O2), probably by increasing the solubility of oxygen. Mechanical buffering by various liners used in the carriers did little to alleviate the interference. Decreasing the speed of pneumatic transport by 50% lessened the effect on P(O2). Conclusion Interference can be minimized by carefully purging samples of all air bubbles using the following protocol: invert syringe to check for air bubbles, then retap and reexpel bubbles if necessary. Personnel that collect and send blood gas samples via PTS should be educated about the problem of interference. Modifications both to pneumatic sample transport systems and to blood gas syringes should be investigated to minimize the effect.
Evaluation of ReaxFF-lg force fields for use in molecular dynamics simulations of sucrose

We have performed equilibrium molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using four different ReaxFF-lg parameterizations to determine the best set for use in modeling crystalline sucrose (C12H22O11). The first set of parameters (referred to as Goddard) is from the original ReaxFF-lg paper (Liu et al. in J Phys Chem A 115:11016–11022, 2011). The other three (Models A, B, and C) were developed at ARL using the multiple objective evolutionary strategies (MOES) software (Larentzos et al. in J Chem Theory Comput 11:381–391, 2015). Numerous structural parameters are obtained from the simulations and compared to experimental values, including density, lattice constants and angles, atomic positions, and molecular center of mass positions. The two potentials that best predict sucrose at the ambient state are also used in simulations of sucrose in the phase II polymorphic state, a high-pressure phase which recent experiments have uncovered. We have found that the Goddard model is the best overall potential for MD simulations of sucrose over a wide pressure range.