cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effects of normal cerebrospinal fluid on blood clotting and fibroblast growth

Summary In 50 normal CSF samples, no thrombin, fibinogen, prothrombin, proconvertin, proaccelerin, antihemophilic globulin or thromboplastin activity was found. These samples had no effects different from those produced by artificial control solutions on the coagulation time of a thrombin-fibrinogen system, and they demonsrated no fibrinolytic activity. In addition, they had no effect on chick fibroblast growth. There is no idication from these results that CSF specifically interferes with the healing of ruptured intracranial aneurysms.
Intraosseous ganglion of the temporomandibular joint presenting with otorrhea

A ganglion cyst of the temporomandibular joint is a rare entity that commonly presents as a minimally tender, preauricular mass. This benign cystic lesion, which is lined by synovium and can be found in association with other joints, occasionally erodes adjacent bone to form an intraosseous ganglion. We discuss an unusual case of an intraosseous temporomandibular ganglion cyst that presented with bloody otorrhea. Examination revealed an external auditory canal mass with radiographic evidence of temporal bone erosion. The cyst was excised using a combined approach to the glenoid fossa and mastoid. The management principals of this case and a pertinent review of the literature are included.
Toxicological interactions between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide

Fischer 344 male rats were subjected to 30-min individual or combined exposures of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). All deaths from CO occurred during the exposures, and the LC50 values were 4600 and 5000 ppm, depending on experimental conditions. Animals exposed to CO2 concentrations ranging from 1.3 to 14.7% for 30 min were neither incapacitated nor fatally injured. The addition of nonlethal concentrations of CO2 (1.7 to 17.3%) to sublethal concentrations of CO (2500 to 4000 ppm) caused deaths of the exposed rats both during and following (up to 24 h) the 30-min exposures. The most toxic combination of these two gases (2500 ppm CO plus 5% CO2) increased the rate of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) formation 1.5 times that found in rats exposed to 2500 ppm of CO alone. The COHb equilibrium levels were the same. Exposure to both CO and CO2 produced a greater degree of acidosis and a longer recovery time than that observed with either single gas. The results fit a mathematical model indicating a synergistic interaction. Combustion of 11 materials at their LC50 values indicated that CO was probably the primary toxicant in one case and that the combined CO plus CO2 was the cause of the deaths in three other cases. Additional fire gases need to be studied to explain deaths from the other materials.
MCNPX benchmark for cosmic ray interactions with the Moon

[1] The MCNPX radiation transport code is used to simulate cosmic ray interactions within the Moon. Accurate source, geometric, and physics models are developed to successfully benchmark neutron density results with Apollo 17 measurements. The peak of the MCNPX lunar neutron density profile is shown to be within a few percent of the measured value, using a galactic cosmic rays modulation parameter that is consistent with the timeframe of the Apollo 17 mission. Sensitivity of the density profile to various input parameters and physics options is considered. Details of the simulation input are provided, along with neutron production and flux results, to facilitate additional benchmark efforts in the future.
A high-fat diet increases calcitonin secretion in the rat.

Abstract We have studied the effects of diet-induced obesity on thyroidal calcitonin, plasma calcitonin, calcium and phosphorus in rats. Twelve 9-week-old female rats were randomly divided into two groups. One group was fed a low-fat diet while the other was fed a high-fat diet. Both diets had 0.76% Ca, 0.56% P and 2.2 U/g vitamin D: however, the high-fat diet had hydrogenated vegetable oil added at 405 g/kg. All rats were pair-fed and consumed 11 g/day per rat for 27 weeks at which time the rats were fasted overnight and exsanguinated. The rats on the high-fat diet weighed 406 ± 21 g (mean ± SEM) versus 292 ± 13 g for controls and had higher levels of serum calcitonin (104 ± 12 versus 57 ± 9 pg/ml). The obese rats also had increased thyroidal calcitonin by radioimmunoassay and increased thyroidal C-cells by immunohistology. The increased calcitonin levels occurred without a concomitant increase in calcium levels. These data indicate that a high-fat diet in rats stimulates C-cell growth and calcitonin secretion.
Photodynamic Characterization and In Vitro Application of Methylene Blue‐containing Nanoparticle Platforms¶

This article presents the development and characterization of nanoparticles loaded with methylene blue (MB), which are designed to be administered to tumor cells externally and deliver singlet oxygen (1O2) for photodynamic therapy (PDT), i.e. cell kill via oxidative stress to the membrane. We demonstrated the encapsulation of MB, a photosensitizer (PS), in three types of sub-200 nm nanoparticles, composed of polyacrylamide, sol-gel silica and organically modified silicate (ORMOSIL), respectively. Induced by light irradiation, the entrapped MB generated 1O2, and the produced 1O2 was measured quantitatively with anthracene-9,10-dipropionic acid, disodium salt, to compare the effects of different matrices on 1O2 delivery. Among these three different kinds of nanoparticles, the polyacrylamide nanoparticles showed the most efficient delivery of 1O2, but its loading of MB was low. In contrast, the sol-gel nanoparticles had the best MB loading but the least efficient 1O2 delivery. In addition to investigating the matrix effects, a preliminary in vitro PDT study using the MB-loaded polyacrylamide nanoparticles was conducted on rat C6 glioma tumor cells with positive photodynamic results. The encapsulation of MB in nanoparticles should diminish the interaction of this PS with the biological milieu, thus facilitating its systemic administration. Furthermore, the concept of the drug-delivering nanoparticles has been extended to a new type of dynamic nanoplatform (DNP) that only delivers 1O2. This DNP could also be used as a targeted multifunctional platform for combined diagnostics and therapy of cancer.
Child psychiatry perspectives. Child development research and child analysis.

Abstract The importance of child development research for child analysis is illustrated, and the need for more research within child analysis is emphasized. Without such research there is a danger that the hypotheses and metaphors of psychoanalysis will become reified, and an attitude that resists and eschews the challenge of new ideas may develop. Both kinds of research as well as interdisciplinary dialogues are therefore necessary to counteract these dangers.
Determination of the surface coverage of Mo/TiO2 catalysts by ISS and CO2 chemisorption

A series of Mo/TiO 2 catalysts was prepared by equilibrium adsorption from aqueous solutions of (NH 4 ) 6 Mo 7 O 24 by varying the pH of the solution from 9.8 to 4. The Mo loading increases from 0.8 to 3.6 wt.% as the pH of preparation decreases. The surface coverage of the calcined catalysts was monitored by CO 2 chemisorption and ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS) measurements. Carbon dioxide uptake was determined in a standard BET system from the adsorption isotherms by extrapolating to zero pressure. Coverage measurements from ISS were obtained by monitoring the changes of the ISS Ti signal with Mo addition. Additional information about the dispersion of the Mo phase of these catalysts was obtained from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements The XPS results evidenced the presence of a highly dispersed Mo phase. Carbon dioxide chemisorption results for Mo/TiO 2 catalysts indicated that the Mo coverage increases linearly from 0.16 to 0.93 with increasing Mo loading from 0.6 to 3.6 wt.%. These results were consistent with those determined by ISS measurements and are in good agreement with the predicted values for monolayer dispersion. These findings are in contrast with those obtained for alumina-supported catalysts, where the CO 2 chemisorption method has been show to overestimate the surface coverage. The origin of the apparent suitability of the CO 2 chemisorption method for monitoring the surface coverage of TiO 2 -based systems is discussed.
WKB approximation for general matrix Hamiltonians

We present a method of obtaining WKB-type solutions for generalized Schroedinger equations for which the Hamiltonian is an arbitrary matrix function of any number of pairs of canonical operators. Our solution reduces the problem to that of finding the matrix which diagonalizes the classical Hamiltonian and determining the scalar WKB wave functions for the diagonalized Hamiltonian's entries (presented explicitly in terms of classical quantities). If the classical Hamiltonian has degenerate eigenvalues, the solution contains a vector in the classically degenerate subspace. This vector satisfies a classical equation and is given explicitly in terms of the classical Hamiltonian as a Dyson series. As an example, we obtain, from the Dirac equation for an electron with anomalous magnetic moment, the relativistic spin-precession equation.
Critiquing Teacher Preparation Research: An Overview of the Field, Part II

This is the first of a two-part article that aims to chart the contemporary landscape of research on teacher preparation and certification. It is based on a review of more than 1,500 studies published between 2000 and 2012. Part 1 provides information about how the review was conducted and describes the theoretical/analytic framework the authors developed to guide the review. The framework combines ideas from the sociology of knowledge and research as social practice. This framework situates the research on teacher education within salient economic, intellectual, and demographic developments of the past half century and also examines the practices of researchers who are differently positioned from one another, have divergent purposes and audiences, and who work both inside and outside teacher education. Part 1 also analyzes the first of three major research programs—research on teacher preparation accountability, effectiveness, and policies, identifying strengths and weaknesses in this body of studies.
COMPARISON OF CHLOROPLAST DNA AND ALLOZYME VARIATION IN WINTER STRAINS OF THE MARINE DIATOM SKELETONEMA COSTATUM(BACILLARIOPHYTA)1

Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were examined in 12 winter strains of the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve using homologous chloroplast gene probes. The winter strains included eight different allozyme genotypes exhibiting physiological differences. These 12 winter strains were representative of the least diverse genetic group present in Narragansett Bay populations. Five chloroplast DNA probes and four different restriction enzymes were used to analyze the 12 Narragansett Bay strains and a reference strain “Skel.” A total of 46 restriction fragments were identified. All 12 of the winter strains had identical patterns. Strain Skel exhibited two RFLPs in comparison to the Narragansett Bay strains. Calculated diversity within the winter strain group was 0.0 and 0.85 for the chloroplast DNA and allozyme data, respectively. The chloroplast DNA polymorphisms revealed by this study are expected to represent a minimum level of the chloroplast DNA diversity present in Narragansett Bay seasonal populations.
HUMIDITY AUGMENTATION AS THE INITIAL IMPULSE IN A NUMERICAL CLOUD MODEL

Abstract A perturbation of relative humidity is used as a trigger to start the convection in a two-dimensional numerical model of a cumulus cloud. The effects of varying the width and depth of the perturbation are studied. The rate of growth, eventual cloud height, liquid water content, and updraft strength are strongly dependent on depth of the impulse; but for realistically shallow depths, these values are in reasonable agreement with observations of real clouds. As in the case of one-dimensional models, the ultimate cloud height is dependent on the width of the impulse, but perhaps to a lesser extent.
Dynamical isobar models and {pi}-N scattering data

Isobar amplitudes for pion-nucleon elastic and production reactions are constructed from a dynamical theory. The framework of point form relativistic quantum mechanics is used to derive a relativistic Lippmann-Schwinger equation linking elastic and production channels. The dynamics is contained in a mass operator which is the sum of a free and interacting mass operator. For a separable interacting mass operator, the Lippmann-Schwinger equations can be solved analytically; the resulting matrix equations have determinants whose zeros give the positions of multiple resonances in the same angular momentum channels. Though varying parameters to fit data is highly nonlinear, procedures are developed for fitting elastic and inelastic data. Fits to data are presented for the P{sub 33} partial wave channel in pion-nucleon scattering. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
SELF-STABILIZING GRAPH PROTOCOLS

We provide self-stabilizing algorithms to obtain and maintain a maximal matching, maximal independent set or minimal dominating set in a given system graph. They converge in linear rounds under a distributed or synchronous daemon. They can be implemented in an ad hoc network by piggy-backing on the beacon messages that nodes already use.
(Z)-3-(1-Benzofuran-2-yl)-2-(3,4,5-tri­meth­oxy­phen­yl)acrylonitrile

In the title compound, C20H17NO4, the double bond of the acrylonitrile group separating the 1-benzofuran moiety from the 3,4,5-trimeth­oxy­phenyl ring has Z geometry. The 1-benzofuran groups are π–π stacked with inversion-related counterparts such that the furan ring centroid–centroid distance is 3.804 (5) A. The dihedral angle between the planes of the trimeth­oxy­phenyl ring and the acrylonitrile group is 24.2 (2)°.
Current knowledge on Chlamydia pneumoniae, strain TWAR, an important cause of pneumonia and other acute respiratory diseases

This article reviews current knowledge of Chlamydia pneumoniae strain TWAR, a newly recognized Chlamydia organism that causes acute respiratory infection, especially atypical pneumonia. Information is included on the microbiology, classification and laboratory diagnosis of the organism. Details of a series of studies of both endemic and epidemic respiratory infections are reviewed to present information on both the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of infection with strain TWAR. Laboratory studies of antibiotic sensitivity and recommendations for treatment are presented.
Dual 24-hour feeding response to 2DG in rats: Daytime increase and nighttime decrease

Thirty-six rats were injected IP with 2DG (0, 250, or 500 mg/kg) at 7-day intervals, once at light onset (7 a.m.) and once at dark onset (7 p.m.), and postinjection food intake was monitored for 24 hours. Five hundred mg/kg 2DG caused food intake to rise above control levels during the first 6 hours of daylight, regardless of whether the injection had occurred that morning or the previous evening, whereas intake during the first 6 hours of darkness was consistently below control levels. In a second study, 24 rats were injected first at 7 a.m. (500 mg/kg 2DG or saline), and 7 days later at 7 p.m. (opposite drug), and food was withheld 12 hours until the light:dark period had changed. For 12 hours after food was returned, 2DG again decreased nighttime food intake (Injection 1) and increased daytime intake (Injection 2). 2DG's dual long-term effects cannot be accounted for either by malaise or by an initial action that later is compensated by its opposite. Rather, 2DG (500 mg/kg) appears to exert two independent, opposite alimentary effects which persist 18-24 hours and which change direction with phase changes in the light:dark cycle.
Maximal inspiratory pressure. Learning effect and test-retest reliability in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Reliability of the maximal inspiratory pressure (P Imax ) was examined by measuring P Imax once a week for 4 weeks in 91 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using an aneroid pressure gauge. Five P Imax trials were conducted at each test. From the first to the fourth test, the P Imax increased by a mean of 9 cm H 2 O (SD = 10). From the third to the fourth test, P Imax increased by a mean of 2 cm H 2 O and performance appeared to be plateauing. The test-retest reliability coefficient was r=0.97 for P Imax measured at the third and fourth test session. The 95 percent confidence interval for the absolute difference in P Imax at the third and fourth test was 3 to 5 cm H 2 O. We conclude that performance of P Imax improves with practice in naive COPD patients and P Imax is reliable when measured with an aneroid gauge by experienced data collectors if patients are given sufficient practice.
Does maternal body mass index influence treatment effect in women with mild gestational diabetes

Objective The aim of the article is to determine whether maternal body mass index (BMI) influences the beneficial effects of diabetes treatment in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Study Design Secondary analysis of a multicenter randomized treatment trial of women with GDM. Outcomes of interest were elevated umbilical cord c-peptide levels (> 90th percentile 1.77 ng/mL), large for gestational age (LGA) birth weight (> 90th percentile), and neonatal fat mass (g). Women were grouped into five BMI categories adapted from the World Health Organization International Classification of normal, overweight, and obese adults. Outcomes were analyzed according to treatment group assignment. Results A total of 958 women were enrolled (485 treated and 473 controls). Maternal BMI at enrollment was not related to umbilical cord c-peptide levels. However, treatment of women in the overweight, Class I, and Class II obese categories was associated with a reduction in both LGA birth weight and neonatal fat mass. Neither measure of excess fetal growth was reduced with treatment in normal weight (BMI Conclusion There was a beneficial effect of treatment on fetal growth in women with mild GDM who were overweight or Class I and Class II obese. These effects were not apparent for normal weight and very obese women.
Launching the Healthy Michigan Plan — The First 100 Days

The early experience with Medicaid expansion in Michigan, a Republican-controlled state that received a federal waiver to implement modifications, may provide useful insights as this new coverage option continues to be debated and implemented in other states.
Cluster adaptive training of hidden Markov models

When performing speaker adaptation, there are two conflicting requirements. First, the speaker transform must be powerful enough to represent the speaker. Second, the transform must be quickly and easily estimated for any particular speaker. The most popular adaptation schemes have used many parameters to adapt the models to be representative of an individual speaker. This limits how rapidly the models may be adapted to a new speaker or the acoustic environment. This paper examines an adaptation scheme requiring very few parameters, cluster adaptive training (CAT). CAT may be viewed as a simple extension to speaker clustering. Rather than selecting a single cluster as representative of a particular speaker, a linear interpolation of all the cluster means is used as the mean of the particular speaker. This scheme naturally falls into an adaptive training framework. Maximum likelihood estimates of the interpolation weights are given. Furthermore, simple re-estimation formulae for cluster means, represented both explicitly and by sets of transforms of some canonical mean, are given. On a speaker-independent task CAT reduced the word error rate using very little adaptation data. In addition when combined with other adaptation schemes it gave a 5% reduction in word error rate over adapting a speaker-independent model set.
From Time's Boomerang to Pointillist Mosaic: Translating Cloud Atlas into Film

In a Wall Street Journal article appearing prior to the U.S. premiere of the film Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell addresses the challenges of turning his complex novel into a film. Revealing that he considered the novel’s “there-and-back” structure as “unfilmable,” he comments favorably on the new structure devised by the screenwriters/directors Lana and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta) and Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run; Heaven): “It [the novel] has now been adapted for the screen, but as a sort of pointillist mosaic: We stay in each of the six worlds just long enough for the hook to be sunk in, and from then on the film darts from world to world at the speed of a plate-spinner, revisiting each narrative for long enough to propel it forward” (Mitchell, “Translating”). Significantly, whereas the “there-and-back” structure—or “Time’s Boomerang,” as Mitchell calls it in a sly self-referential section of the novel (147)––suggests a dynamic state of affairs, the pointillist mosaic metaphor suggests a quasistatic one.1 I would argue that, through its restructuring, the film shifts its emphasis from a future in flux to a future that is fixed––as in a frame. The film certainly works on its own terms, the filmmakers deftly managing the mind-boggling task of tying together the six separate storylines of Mitchell’s novel through cinematic means. The changes in key plot points and in temporal structure, however, transform the novel’s theme that one can change the future (a “virtual future,” in Mitchell’s terms) to a theme
An encounter with the Russian Czar: the image of Peter the great in early Qajar historical writings

PERSIAN HISTORICAL SOURCES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF THE EARLY QAJAR PEriod, devote more attention to the achievements of the Russian czar Peter I (r. 1682-1725) than to any other "modem" European monarch.' The image of Peter the Great captured the attention of Iranian reformers, who articulated their own hopes by glorifying him as the regenerator of the Russian Empire. They drew an ambiguous image of the czar, portraying him, on the one hand, with admiration and esteem and, on the other, with fear and mistrust. Yet the Qajar ruling elite looked to Peter as a sort of mirror in which they could see their own reflection and as a symbol crucial to the construction of a discourse that in their minds would lead to change, a discourse that resonated naturally with the political requirements of their nation. By using Czar Peter as a point of reference, Iranian reformers expressed their dismay at the deteriorating international status of Irn and the urgency to arrive at solutions. The articulation of the connection between territorial expansion and military, political, and educational reforms was a new development in Qajar historical writings. Unlike earlier reports, these accounts are grounded in associations and comparisons and attribute the military superiority of Russia to Peter's pioneering Western-style reforms. By analyzing descriptions of Russia and of Peter in several historical sources of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this study will examine the reasons for and historical relevance of the aggrandizement of Peter the Great within the intellectual framework of the period. Since these texts were written by, or with the collaboration of, a handful of enlightened and cosmopolitan Iranian intellectuals with a command of several European languages, particularly French and English, it is also important to determine the textual channels through which the image of Peter I infiltrated Iran. In other words, we must study the European texts available to them at the time and investigate the ways in which they recast and rearticulated this historical information to suit their discourse of change. This is especially important, since a time lag of over a century between the reign of Czar Peter and the activi-
Variation in the Gene Encoding the Serotonin 2A Receptor Is Associated with Outcome of Antidepressant Treatment

Depressive disorders account for a large and increasing global burden of disease. Although the condition of many patients improves with medication, only a minority experience full remission, and patients whose condition responds to one medication may not have a response to others. Individual variation in antidepressant treatment outcome is, at present, unpredictable but may have a partial genetic basis. We searched for genetic predictors of treatment outcome in 1,953 patients with major depressive disorder who were treated with the antidepressant citalopram in the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives for Depression (STAR*D) study and were prospectively assessed. In a split-sample design, a selection of 68 candidate genes was genotyped, with 768 single-nucleotide-polymorphism markers chosen to detect common genetic variation. We detected significant and reproducible association between treatment outcome and a marker in HTR2A (P range 1 x 10(-6) to 3.7 x 10(-5) in the total sample). Other markers in HTR2A also showed evidence of association with treatment outcome in the total sample. HTR2A encodes the serotonin 2A receptor, which is downregulated by citalopram. Participants who were homozygous for the A allele had an 18% reduction in absolute risk of having no response to treatment, compared with those homozygous for the other allele. The A allele was over six times more frequent in white than in black participants, and treatment was less effective among black participants. The A allele may contribute to racial differences in outcomes of antidepressant treatment. Taken together with prior neurobiological findings, these new genetic data make a compelling case for a key role of HTR2A in the mechanism of antidepressant action.
Perception of Human Chimeric Faces by Chimpanzees: Evidence for a Right Hemisphere Advantage

The aim of this study was to investigate hemispheric advantages in the processing of human chimeric faces by chimpanzees using a free-vision task developed by Levy, Heller, Banich, and Burton (1983a). Subjects were taught a visual discrimination in which they were to select the human face that appeared "happiest" when paired with its neutral counterpart. After reaching criterion, chimeric faces were substituted as test trials, and the face the subjects selected was recorded. On 62% of the trials, three chimpanzee subjects selected the face in which the smiling half fell in the left hemispatial field. Familiarity factors appear to have accounted for some of the observed findings. We believe this is the first evidence for hemispheric advantages in the perception of human faces by great apes.
Automatic antitachycardia pacing

Abstract The majority of supraventricular dysrhythmias in children are due to reentrant mechanisms. These tachyarrhythmias are often terminated by atrial overdrive pacing with either transesophageal or transvenous pacing catheters. In specific clinical situations permanent antitachycardia pacing devices can be used. These devices automatically recognize atrial tachycardia that has met specific preset criteria and then attempt to terminate it by delivering preset termination sequences. The devices are not always successful and sometimes concomitant antiarrhythmic drug therapy is required.
Unrealized Capital Gains and the Measurement of After-Tax Portfolio Performance

While also looking into the issue of after-tax performance measurement, the author focuses more specifically on the taxation of capital gains. A standard approach to after-tax performance measurement assumes that realized capital gains are taxed at their current statutory tax rate while unrealized capital gains are effectively untaxed. Unrealized gains are thus treated in the same way as tax-exempt interest income. The author argues that this ignores the multiperiod aspect of after-tax portfolio planning. He presents a simple algorithm for evaluating the effective capital gains tax burden on realized gains. The solution is based on the probabilities that some portfolio liquidation will be required and that there will be unrealized capital gains in the portfolio at that time. The approach, which suggests that the tax rate on unrealized capital gains is non-zero, clarifies the link between an investor9s future likelihood of realizing capital gains, and the current effective capital gains tax burden on realized gains.
RISP/RIGGS symposium

I read with interest the report in the October 1978 issue of EOS on the RISP/RIGGS Symposium held as part of the annual Spring Meeting ofthe AGU in Miami last April. Unfortunately, despite the title, the report reviews only six papers on the RISP drilling projects at station J9 and omits all mention ofthe equal number of papers related specifically to RIGGS. This highly successful project has, after four seasons of field work, produced extensive information across nearly the entire ice shelf on velocities, strain rates, and thicknesses of the ice shelf; on the submarine topography, submarine geology, and tides beneath the shelf; and on the physical and chemical characteristics of the ice itself. Thus although the project may not be as dramatic as the successful completion of an access hole to the previously unexplored waters beneath the ice shelf, the scientific accomplishments are, in my (admittedly prejudiced) view, at least as great, and as deserving of review in E0S.
Reaction of Melatonin and Related Indoles With Hydroxyl Radicals: EPR and Spin Trapping Investigations

Abstract It has been suggested that the indole hormone melatonin ( N -acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, MLT) is an important natural antioxidant and free radical scavenger [ J. Pineal Res., 14: 51; 1993]. In the present work we determined the rate constants, k r , for scavenging OH radicals by melatonin, 5-methoxytryptamine (5-MeO-T), 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin, 5-OH-T), 6-chloromelatonin (6-Cl-MLT), 6-hydroxymelatonin (6-OH-MLT), and kynurenine (KN) in aqueous solutions. Hydroxyl radicals were generated using a Fenton reaction in the presence of the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N -oxide (DMPO), which competed with the indoles for the radicals. It was found that MLT reacts with OH with k r = 2.7 × 10 10 M −1 s −1 . Other indoles and KN reacted with OH radicals with similarly high rates (k r > 10 10 M −1 s −1 ). In contrast to nonhydroxylated indoles (MLT, 6-Cl-MLT, and 5-MeO-T), hydroxylated indoles (5-OH-T and 6-OH-MLT) may function both as OH promoters and OH scavengers. The melatonin precursor serotonin promoted the generation of OH radicals in the presence of ferric iron and H 2 O 2 , and the melatonin metabolite 6-hydroxymelatonin generated large quantities of OH radicals in aerated solutions containing Fe 3+ ion, even in the absence of externally added hydrogen peroxide. These reactions may be relevant to the biological action of these physiologically important indolic compounds.
A novel split inductively coupled piezoelectric transducer for flaw detection in pipes

Damage to pipes by erosion or cracking can lead to catastrophic failure. Of particular concern are particular pipes and other components used in fracking, where the pipe working pressure can be rated as high as 15000 psi and localized erosion can result from particulate matter. We seek to develop a robust transducer that can be permanently mounted at critical locations and that will insonify the entire circumference of the pipe. We will show that a split inductively coupled transducer allows insonification of the entire circumference of the pipe from a single location. We illustrate the detection of a defect in a test specimen using this transducer.
Retinoblastoma tumor suppressor pathway in breast cancer: prognosis, precision medicine, and therapeutic interventions

A series of recent studies have demonstrated that the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor (RB) pathway plays a critical role in multiple clinically relevant aspects of breast cancer biology, spanning early stage lesions to targeted treatment of metastatic disease. In ductal carcinoma in situ, multiple groups have shown that dysregulation of the RB pathway is critically associated with recurrence and disease progression. Functional models have similarly illustrated key roles for RB in regulating epithelial–mesenchymal transition and other features contributing to aggressive disease. Invasive breast cancers are treated in distinct fashions, and heterogeneity within the RB pathway relates to prognosis and response to commonly used therapeutics. Luminal B breast cancers that have a poor prognosis amongst estrogen receptor-positive disease are defined based on the expression of RB-regulated genes. Such findings have led to clinical interventions that directly target the RB pathway through CDK4/6 inhibition which have promise in both estrogen receptor-positive and Her2-positive disease. In contrast, RB loss results in improved response to chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer, where ongoing research is attempting to define intrinsic vulnerabilities for targeted intervention. These findings support a wide-reaching impact of the RB pathway on disease that could be harnessed for improved clinical interventions.
Taiwanese or Chinese? Independence or Unification?: An Analysis of Generational Differences in Taiwan

Recent political developments on Taiwan seem to suggest that the issues of ethnic identity and the island’s future relationship with China are divisive and polarized. Employing the concept of ‘political generation’, this study examines six waves of survey data collected through personal interviews. The findings indicate that the ethnic identity of Taiwanese citizens has experienced significant change between 1994 and 2002. Many citizens, especially the younger generations, have increasingly moved away from a Chinese identity in favor of a dual identity, considering themselves to be both Chinese and Taiwanese. Unlike the polarized image painted by the island’s politicians, it appears that there is convergence towards this identity across different generations. On the issue of Taiwan’s future relations with China, maintaining the status quo with any future action left undetermined is the preferred policy position for younger islanders with the island’s eventual unification with China being the favored stand...
Individualized Piano Instruction enhances executive functioning and working memory in older adults

This study evaluates transfer from domain-specific, sensorimotor training to cognitive abilities associated with executive function. We examined Individualized Piano Instruction (IPI) as a potential cognitive intervention to mitigate normal age-related cognitive decline in older adults. Thirty-one musically naive community-dwelling older adults (ages 60–85) were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 16) or control group (n = 15). Neuropsychological assessments were administered at three time points: pre-training, following six months of intervention, and following a three-month delay. The experimental group significantly improved performance on the Trail Making Test and Digit Symbol measures as compared to healthy controls. Results of this study suggest that IPI may serve as an effective cognitive intervention for age-related cognitive decline.
The Alternative Sigma Factor σB and the Virulence Gene Regulator PrfA Both Regulate Transcription of Listeria monocytogenes Internalins

Some Listeria monocytogenes internalins are recognized as contributing to invasion of mammalian tissue culture cells. While PrfA is well established as a positive regulator of L. monocytogenes virulence gene expression, the stress-responsive sigma(B) has been recognized only recently as contributing to expression of virulence genes, including some that encode internalins. To measure the relative contributions of PrfA and sigma(B) to internalin gene transcription, we used reverse transcription-PCR to quantify transcript levels for eight internalin genes (inlA, inlB, inlC, inlC2, inlD, inlE, inlF, and inlG) in L. monocytogenes 10403S and in isogenic Delta prfA, Delta sigB, and Delta sigB Delta prfA strains. Strains were grown under defined conditions to produce (i) active PrfA, (ii) active sigma(B) and active PrfA, (iii) inactive PrfA, and (iv) active sigma(B) and inactive PrfA. Under the conditions tested, sigma(B) and PrfA contributed differentially to the expression of the various internalins such that (i) both sigma(B) and PrfA contributed to inlA and inlB transcription, (ii) only PrfA contributed to inlC transcription, (iii) only sigma(B) contributed to inlC2 and inlD transcription, and (iv) neither sigma(B) nor PrfA contributed to inlF and inlG transcription. inlE transcript levels were undetectable. The important role for sigma(B) in regulating expression of L. monocytogenes internalins suggests that exposure of this organism to environmental stress conditions, such as those encountered in the gastrointestinal tract, may activate internalin transcription. Interplay between sigma(B) and PrfA also appears to be critical for regulating transcription of some virulence genes, including inlA, inlB, and prfA.
Images of Dissipation Layers to Quantify Mixing Within a Turbulent Jet

Images were obtained that visualize the structure of the mixture fraction field and the structure of the scalar dissipation layers that exist near the base of a turbulent jet. To characterize the local mixing rate, measured profiles of the mean dissipation rate were compared with a general scaling analysis. In addition, the joint probability density function (£, %) was measured. Some effects of adding coaxial air and swirl are discussed. The especially large values of the mean dissipation rate (up to 30 s"1) and the instantaneous dissipation rate (up to 175 s"1) that were measured in the base region are due to the large local values of the mean velocity gradient in this region. It was found that the dissipation layers in the base region have a unique structure; the layers tend to be aligned at approximately a 45-deg angle to the flow and thus differ from layers in the far field, which tend to be oriented in an isotropic pattern, as was shown previously. Strong dissipation layers exist at the boundary of the entrained air, and the observed 45-deg alignment in the base region is believed to be due to the ordered vortex pattern in the shear layer. Dissipation layers are typically 0.3 mm thick. Dissipation rates varied in a manner consistent with the general scaling analysis, and the proper scaling constant was measured to be 9300.
How do load carriage and walking speed influence trunk coordination and stride parameters

To determine the effects of load carriage and walking speed on stride parameters and the coordination of trunk movements, 12 subjects walked on a treadmill at a range of walking speeds (0.6-1.6 m s(-1)) with and without a backpack containing 40% of their body mass. It was hypothesized that compared to unloaded walking, load carriage decreases transverse pelvic and thoracic rotation, the mean relative phase between pelvic and thoracic rotations, and increases hip excursion. In addition, it was hypothesized that these changes would coincide with a decreased stride length and increased stride frequency. The findings supported the hypotheses. Dimensionless analyses indicated that there was a significantly larger contribution of hip excursion and smaller contribution of transverse plane pelvic rotation to increases in stride length during load carriage. In addition, there was a significant effect of load carriage on the amplitudes of transverse pelvic and thoracic rotation and the relative phase of pelvic and thoracic rotation. It was concluded that the shorter stride length and higher stride frequency observed when carrying a backpack is the result of decreased pelvic rotation. During unloaded walking, increases in pelvic rotation contribute to increases in stride length with increasing walking speed. The decreased pelvic rotation during load carriage requires an increased hip excursion to compensate. However, the increase in hip excursion is insufficient to fully compensate for the observed decrease in pelvis rotation, requiring an increase in stride frequency during load carriage to maintain a constant walking speed.
Hoxa1 lineage tracing indicates a direct role for Hoxa1 in the development of the inner ear, the heart, and the third rhombomere

Loss of Hoxa1 function results in severe defects of the brainstem, inner ear, and cranial ganglia in humans and mice as well as cardiovascular abnormalities in humans. Because Hoxa1 is expressed very transiently during an early embryonic stage, it has been difficult to determine whether Hoxa1 plays a direct role in the precursors of the affected organs or if all defects result from indirect effects due to mispatterning of the hindbrain. In this study we use a Hoxa1-IRES-Cre mouse to genetically label the early Hoxa1-expressing cells and determine their contribution to each of the affected organs, allowing us to conclude in which precursor tissue Hoxa1 is expressed. We found Hoxa1 lineage-labeled cells in all tissues expected to be derived from the Hoxa1 domain, such as the facial and abducens nuclei and nerves as well as r4 neural crest cells. In addition, we detected the lineage in derivatives that were not thought to have expressed Hoxa1 during development. In the brainstem, the anterior border of the lineage was found to be in r3, which is more anterior than previously reported. We also observed an interesting pattern of the lineage in the inner ear, namely a strong contribution to the otic epithelium with the exception of sensory patches. Moreover, lineage-labeled cells were detected in the atria and outflow tract of the developing heart. In conclusion, Hoxa1 lineage tracing uncovered new domains of Hoxa1 expression in rhombomere 3, the otic epithelium, and cardiac precursors, suggesting a more direct role for Hoxa1 in development of these tissues than previously believed.
Examining the Use of Play Activities to Increase Appropriate Classroom Behaviors

This 1-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental study investigated the importance of addressing a child’s social needs at school to increase the occurrence of socially appropriate classroom behaviors. This study involved observation of 5 groups of Kindergarten boys and their interactions with each other during small group play activities and guidance lessons within the classroom. Over 8 weeks of intervention, the boys received 10 mini social-skills lessons to help them practice appropriate behaviors during the play activities. The interventionist observed the boys during 3 time periods, baseline, midpoint, and posttest, within their classroom to document the occurrence of the noted behaviors. Results indicated that the participants’ verbal, motor, and passive off-task behaviors significantly decreased from baseline to posttest observations. Strengths, limitations, and implications of the results are discussed, and future research is also recommended.
Assessing workload in human-robot peer-based teams

The effect of a robotic teammate on a human partner's workload has not been fully quantified. Prior research found that human participants experienced lower workload when working with a robotic partner than when working with a human partner. An evaluation investigated whether a similar trend in workload exists for tasks requiring direct and collaborative interaction between the partners, and joint team decision-making. The subjective results indicate a similar trend to the prior results; participants rated workload lower for the more complex task when partnered with a robot than when partnered with a human.
Efficient production and spectroscopy of ultracold potassium molecules in the electronic ground state

Summary form only given. We report results from an efficient new method for producing translationally cold (T<1 mK) potassium molecules in the ground X/sup 1//spl Sigma//sub g//sup +/ electronic state. We use the two-photon "R-transfer" scheme conceptually similar to a proposal by Band and Julienne (1995). First, ultracold potassium atoms in a MOT are photoassociated at long range to the 1/sub g/ molecular electronic state, which correlates to the 1/sup 1//spl Pi//sub g/ state at short range. The resulting molecules are then excited with a second laser to the 5/sup 1//spl Pi//sub u/ or 6/sup 1//spl Pi//sub u/ Rydberg states. These Rydberg states have favorable Franck-Condon factors for spontaneous decay into low vibrational levels of the ground state. The molecules are detected by use of two-color resonant ionization with pulsed lasers. By scanning one of the detection lasers, we observe transitions from several vibrational levels of the X state. The largest observed molecule formation rate in a single vibrational level is about 10/sup 5/ molecules/s for /spl nu/=25. Molecules in the lowest vibrational levels, including /spl nu/=0, are also observed with slightly lower rates of production. The translational temperature of the ground-state molecules is measured by analyzing their ballistic decay from the detection region. It is approximately 500 /spl mu/K, roughly the same as the estimated temperature of potassium atoms in the MOT.
Galectin-3 modulates phagocytosis-induced stellate cell activation and liver fibrosis in vivo

Hepatic stellate cells (HSC), the key fibrogenic cells of the liver, transdifferentiate into myofibroblasts upon phagocytosis of apoptotic hepatocytes. Galectin-3, a β-galactoside-binding lectin, is a regulator of the phagocytic process. In this study, our aim was to study the mechanism by which extracellular galectin-3 modulates HSC phagocytosis and activation. The role of galectin-3 in engulfment was evaluated by phagocytosis and integrin binding assays in primary HSC. Galectin-3 expression was studied by real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and in vivo studies were done in wild-type and galectin-3(-/-) mice. We found that HSC from galectin-3(-/-) mice displayed decreased phagocytic activity, expression of transforming growth factor-β1, and procollagen α1(I). Recombinant galectin-3 reversed this defect, suggesting that extracellular galectin-3 is required for HSC activation. Galectin-3 facilitated the α(v)β(3) heterodimer-dependent binding, indicating that galectin-3 modulates HSC phagocytosis via cross-linking this integrin and enhancing the tethering of apoptotic cells. Blocking integrin α(v)β(3) resulted in decreased phagocytosis. Galectin-3 expression and release were induced in active HSC engulfing apoptotic cells, and this was mediated by the nuclear factor-κB signaling. The upregulation of galectin-3 in active HSC was further confirmed in vivo in bile duct-ligated (BDL) rats. Galectin-3(-/-) mice displayed significantly decreased fibrosis, with reduced expression of α-smooth muscle actin and procollagen α1(I) following BDL. In summary, extracellular galectin-3 plays a key role in liver fibrosis by mediating HSC phagocytosis, activation, and subsequent autocrine and paracrine signaling by a feedforward mechanism.