cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Magnetic-field-induced helical and stripe phases in Rashba superconductors

Due to the lack of both parity and time-reversal symmetries, the Rashba superconductors $\mathrm{Ce}{\mathrm{Pt}}_{3}\mathrm{Si}$, $\mathrm{Ce}\mathrm{Rh}{\mathrm{Si}}_{3}$, and $\mathrm{Ce}\mathrm{Ir}{\mathrm{Si}}_{3}$, in the presence of a magnetic field, are unstable to helical (single plane wave) order. We develop a microscopic theory for such superconductors and examine the stability of this helical phase. We show that the helical phase typically occupies most of the magnetic field--temperature phase diagram. However, we also find that this phase is sometimes unstable to a multiple-$q$ phase (loosely called a stripe phase), in which both the magnitude and the phase of the order parameter are spatially varying. We find the position of this helical to multiple-$q$ phase transition. We further examine the density of states and identify features unique to the helical phase.
ComPLx: A Competitive Primal-dual Lagrange Optimization for Global Placement

We develop a projected-subgradient primal-dual Lagrange optimization for global placement, that can be instantiated with a variety of interconnect models. It decomposes the original non-convex problem into\more convex"sub-problems. It generalizes the recent SimPL, SimPLR and Ripple algo- rithms and extends them. Empirically, ComPLx outper- forms all published placers in runtime and performance on ISPD 2005 and 2006 benchmarks.
The Unfolding Story of the Second Demographic Transition

This article presents a narrative of the unfolding of the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) since the theory was first formulated in 1986. The first part recapitulates the foundations of the theory, and documents the spread of the SDT to the point that it now covers most European populations. Also for Europe, it focuses on the relationship between the SDT and the growing heterogeneity in period fertility levels. It is shown that the current positive relationship between SDT and TFR levels is not a violation of the SDT theory, but the outcome of a "split correlation" with different sub-narratives concerning the onset of fertility postponement and the degree of subsequent recuperation in two parts of Europe. The second part of the article addresses the issue of whether the SDT has spread or is currently spreading in industrialized Asian countries. Evidence gathered for Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan is presented. That evidence pertains to both the macro-level (national trends in postponement of marriage and parenthood, rise of cohabitation) and the micro-level (connections between individual values orientations and postponement of parenthood). Strong similarities are found with SDT patterns in Southern Europe, except for the fact that parenthood is still very rare among Asian cohabiting partners.
The apparent paradox of reestablishing species richness on degraded lands with tree monocultures

The proliferation of degraded tropical landscapes in need of rehabilitation and the reduction of primary forest area have forced a closer collaboration between ecologists and land managers. This collaboration has led to new paradigms of forest management (combined in the term ecosystem management), new insights into forest ecology through comparative ecological research, a more objective analysis of the ecology of tree plantations and a better understanding of the ecological functioning of these ecosystems. Plantation forests can have the same functions as secondary forest stands. However, because of their species composition, structure and management history, plantations can be more susceptible to disturbances than paired secondary forest stands. Plantations can be designed for maximization of particular outputs such as timber, or for specific land rehabilitation objectives such as protection of soils from erosion. Observations of plantation understories in Puerto Rico suggest that high species richness could occur under the shade of monocultural stands. This led to the hypothesis that reestablishment of tree species richness on degraded sites with arrested succession could be facilitated through plantings of tree monocultures. This phenomena was demonstrated experimentally in small plots and through observations at the landscape scale. Restoring tree species richness by planting tree monocultures works because the manager can match species to particular site conditions and thus overcome limiting factors that prevent the regeneration of species-rich forests on degraded sites. Once a forest canopy is established, microsite conditions change and wildlife is attracted. Animals are likely to disperse tree species from surrounding forest patches and regeneration of shade-intolerant species can be inhibited. Nine lines of research are suggested.
Tau passive immunotherapy in mutant P301L mice: antibody affinity versus specificity.

The use of antibodies to treat neurodegenerative diseases has undergone rapid development in the past decade. To date, immunotherapeutic approaches to Alzheimer’s disease have mostly targeted amyloid beta as it is a secreted protein that can be found in plasma and CSF and is consequently accessible to circulating antibodies. Few recent publications have suggested the utility of treatment of tau pathology with monoclonal antibodies to tau. Our laboratory has begun a systematic study of different classes of tau monoclonal antibodies using mutant P301L mice. Three or seven months old mutant tau mice were inoculated weekly with tau monoclonal antibodies at a dose of 10 mg/Kg, until seven or ten months of age were reached respectively. Our data strongly support the notion that in P301L animals treated with MC1, a conformational monoclonal antibody specific for PHF-tau, the rate of development of tau pathology is effectively reduced, while injecting DA31, a high affinity tau sequence antibody, does not exert such benefit. MC1 appears superior to DA31 in overall effects, suggesting that specificity is more important than affinity in therapeutic applications. Unfortunately the survival rate of the P301L treated mice was not improved when immunizing either with MC1 or PHF1, a high affinity phospho-tau antibody previously reported to be efficacious in reducing pathological tau. These data demonstrate that passive immunotherapy in mutant tau models may be efficacious in reducing the development of tau pathology, but a great deal of work remains to be done to carefully select the tau epitopes to target.
Supraphysiological thermal injury in Dunning AT-1 prostate tumor cells.

To investigate the potential application of thermal therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer, the effects of supraphysiological temperatures (40-70 degrees C) for clinically relevant time periods (approximately 15 minutes) were experimentally studied on attached Dunning AT-1 rat prostate cancer cells using multiple assays. The membrane and reproductive machinery were the targets of injury selected for this study. In order to assess membrane injury, the leakage of calcein was measured dynamically, and the uptake of PI was measured postheating (1-3 hours). Clonogenicity was used as a measure of injury to the reproductive machinery 7 days post-injury after comparable thermal insults. Experimental results from all three assays show a broad trend of increasing injury with an increase in temperature and time of insult. Membrane injury, as measured by the fluorescent dye assays, does not correlate with clonogenic survival for many of the thermal histories investigated. In particular, the calcein assay at temperatures of or = 50 degrees C and may not always correlate with clonogenicity at hyperthermic temperatures such as 45 degrees C. Last, although the clonogenic assay yields the most accurate cell survival data, it is difficult to acquire these data at temperatures > or = 50 degrees C because the thermal transients in the experimental setup are significant as compared to the time scale of the experiment. To improve prediction and understanding of thermal injury in this prostate cancer cell line, a first-order rate process model of injury accumulation (the Arrhenius model) was fit to the experimental results. The activation energy (E) obtained using the Arrhenius model for an injury criterion of 30 percent for all three assays revealed that the mechanism of thermal injury measured is likely different for each of the three assays: clonogenics (526.39 kJ/mole), PI (244.8 kJ/mole), and calcein (81.33 kJ/mole). Moreover, the sensitivity of the rate of injury accumulation (d omega/dt) to temperature was highest for the clonogenic assay, lowest for calcein leakage, and intermediate for PI uptake, indicating the strong influence of E value on d omega/dt. Since the clonogenic assay is linked to the ultimate survival of the cell and accounts for all lethal mechanisms of cellular injury, the E and A values obtained from clonogenic study are the best values to apply to predict thermal injury in cells. For higher temperatures (> or = 50 degrees C) indicative of thermal therapies, the results of PI uptake can be used as a conservative estimate of cell death (underprediction). This is useful until better experimental protocols are available to account for thermal transients at high temperature to assess clonogenic ability. These results provide further insights into the mechanisms of thermal injury in single cell systems and may be useful for designing optimal protocols for clinical thermal therapy.
I-region genetic restrictions imposed upon the recognition of KLH by murine T-cell clones.

Data presented in this paper show that the recognition of keyhole limpet hemocyanin by murine T-cell clones is restricted by products of the I region. These data have been obtained by genetic mapping studies as well as by the use of monoclonal la-specific antibodies which inhibit the ability of antigen-presenting cells to effectively present antigen to such T-cell clones. Use of heterozygous antigen-presenting cells derived from crosses between B6.C-H-2bm12 and B10.A(4R) mice have allowed us to show that both trans-complementing I-A products are used for restriction of recognition of KLH. These data were confirmed using monoclonal Ia antibodies to inhibition recognition of KLH by the same T-cell clones. Thus, we have shown that there exist hybrid molecules formed by free combinatorial association of products encoded within the I-A subregion which restrict the recognition of soluble antigen. Additionally, we have shown that the molecule formed by complementation between the alpha chain encoded within the I-E region and a beta chain encoded within the A region (Ae) can function effectively in presenting KLH to certain murine T-cell clones. These results support the hypothesis that the recognition of individual antigenic epitopes within large multideterminant antigens is under the control of Ir genes.
Measuring the Reliability of Diagnostic Classification Model Examinee Estimates

Over the past decade, diagnostic classification models (DCMs) have become an active area of psychometric research. Despite their use, the reliability of examinee estimates in DCM applications has seldom been reported. In this paper, a reliability measure for the categorical latent variables of DCMs is defined. Using theory-and simulation-based results, we show how DCMs uniformly provide greater examinee estimate reliability than IRT models for tests of the same length, a result that is a consequence of the smaller range of latent variable values examinee estimates can take in DCMs. We demonstrate this result by comparing DCM and IRT reliability for a series of models estimated with data from an end-of-grade test, culminating with a discussion of how DCMs can be used to change the character of large scale testing, either by shortening tests that measure examinees unidimensionally or by providing more reliable multidimensional measurement for tests of the same length.
Synthesis and characterization of actinide-exchanged Preyssler heteropolyanions [AnP5W30O110]n- (An≡Th, Am, Cm)

Abstract Interest in the use of heteropolyoxometalate clusters as actinide complexants motivates our studies of the Preyssler heteropolytungstate anion, [NaP5W30O110]14−, and its actinide-exchanged derivatives, [AnP5W30O110]n−. Under specific conditions, substitution of Na+ is possible by La3+ and Th4+ as well as by U4+ and the transuranics Am3+ and Cm3+. Both [AnP5W30O110]11− (for An≡Th4+, U4+) and [AnP5W30O110]12− (for An≡Am3+, Cm3+) as well as [LaP5W30O110]12− exhibit remarkable redox properties and form heteropoly blues. Although similar, the electrochemistry of the An3+/La3+- and An4+-exchanged anions are different and distinguishable by cyclic voltammetry in aqueous mineral acid electrolytes. The synthesis of the new Preyssler anion complexes of La3+, Th4+, Am3+, and Cm3+ will be described along with results from cyclic voltammetry measurements.
Mediating Effects of Parent–Child Relationships and Body Image in the Prediction of Internalizing Symptoms in Urban Youth

Youth are faced with many stressful interpersonal, contextual, and identify development related challenges that contribute to the increased risk of negative outcomes during adolescence. The current study examined two important factors related to youth’s development and well-being: parent–child attachment and negative body image. Specifically, the current study examined body image as one mechanism responsible for the effect that mother and father attachment has on internalizing symptoms in a sample of low-income, ethnic minority youth. Additionally, differences across gender and ethnic/racial groups were examined. Participants included 140 (71 % female) ages 10–16 at baseline recruited from urban public schools in Chicago with high percentages of low-income students. The current sample was ethnically diverse (41 % African American, 30 % Latino, 16 % European American, 6 % Biracial, 6 % Asian, and 1 % other). Participants completed measures of their relationships with their mothers and fathers, negative body image, and internalizing symptoms across two periods of time separated by approximately 1 year. Results showed that body image mediated the relation between both mother and father attachment and internalizing symptoms. These results were further moderated by race/ethnicity, but not by sex. For African American participants, mother attachment was related to internalizing symptoms through negative body image while for Latinos, paternal attachment was related to internalizing symptoms through negative body image. Although maternal attachment had direct effects on internalizing symptoms for Latinos, negative body image did not mediate this relationship. These results support an integrative model in which interpersonal risk lays the foundation for the development of cognitive risk, which in turn leads to internalizing symptoms for urban youth.
Abstract PD09-08: The potential role of TLK2 as a therapeutic target in breast cancer.

Invasive breast cancer (IBC) is a heterogeneous disease with distinct molecular and histological features as well as diverse biological behaviors. It is thus critical to find specific gene aberrations that can drive breast cancer initiation and progression as potential therapeutic targets. Our lab has established bioinformatics workflows to identify therapeutic oncogene targets. We have nominated Tousled-Like Kinase 2 (TLK2) as a candidate therapeutic target from 44,932 human genes based on integrative copy number data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). TLK2 is a nuclear serine/threonine kinase that serves as a cell cycle checkpoint regulating chromosome assembly, and is inactivated by phosphorylation through the ATM dependent manner in the response to the double strand breaks during the S-phase. Interestingly, we observed 12–14% of focal TLK2 gene amplifications and translocations in invasive breast cancers, which are more frequent in luminal B tumors. Chromosomal aberrations may leads the deregulation of TLK2 kinase activity and results in overcoming the cell cycle checkpoint upon DNA damage such as IR or chemotherapeutic drugs treatments in breast cancer, thus destabilizing the cancer genome. Indeed, our preliminary data show that TLK2 knockdown substantially inhibits cell proliferation in breast cancer cells overexpressing TLK2. Further, this response is sustained in their derivative strains resistant to hormone or anti-Her2 therapies, suggesting the potential of TLK2 inhibition to sensitize these therapies as well. Overall, I expect that this study will provide compelling evidence regarding the role of TLK2 in breast cancer tumorigenesis and genomic instability, and establish its potential as a therapeutic target. The possibility of developing specific TLK2 inhibitors can be well demonstrated by the previous success of drugs against other cell cycle checkpoint kinases that are currently under clinical trials. In addition, molecular assays detecting TLK2 derangements may be applied in the clinics to identify patients who might benefit from future TLK2 inhibitor. If TLK2 endows resistance or sensitivity to other therapies, assays detecting TLK2 aberrations may also have important predictive value for personalization of these treatments. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr PD09-08.
Coordinate transformations in the representation of spatial information.

Coordinate transformations are an essential aspect of behavior. They are required because sensory information is coded in the coordinates of the sensory epithelia (e.g. retina, skin) and must be transformed to the coordinates of muscles for movement. In this review we will concentrate on recent studies of visual-motor transformations. The studies show that representations of space are distributed, being specified in the activity of many cells rather than in the activity of individual cells. Furthermore, these distributed representations appear to be derived by a specific operation, which systematically combines visual signals with eye and head position signals.
Job Search Decision Making Among Veterans in VA Vocational Rehabilitation: A Behavioral Economics Perspective

Using a scenario format, this study examined whether behavioral economic concepts are useful for understanding vocational rehabilitation and job search decision-making. It was also designed to determine factors most likely to motivate participants to engage in job search activities. Results document the relative salience of specific cost/benefit factors associated with likelihood of seeking employment. The most salient factors include intrinsic factors such as interest or sense of accomplishment in the job, extrinsic factors such as pay, discounting factors such as length of time until the job starts, and factors related to income effects such as housing costs. The data also suggest that altering the unit price of specific job characteristics leads to predictable changes in the probability of job search behaviors consistent with classic behavioral economic demand curves. These findings suggest that a behavioral economic perspective is useful for understanding decision making for veterans within a vocation...
COMPLICATIONS OF PERCUTANEOUS DART THERAPY IN MANAGEMENT OF PNEUMOTHORAX

Treatment of patients who have pneumothorax is increasingly being undertaken with a small-diameter dart catheter. Although the catheter usually is effective, complications can arise with its use. We describe a patient in whom empyema developed during treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax with the use of such a catheter. Limitations and guidelines for its use are discussed.
Bremsstrahlung spectra from electron interactions with screened atomic nuclei and orbital electrons

Abstract Through the synthesis of various theoretical results, a comprehensive set of bremsstrahlung cross sections (differential in the energy of the emitted photons) has been prepared. The set includes results for electrons with energies from 1 keV to 10 GeV incident on neutral atoms with atomic numbers Z = 1 to 100. For bremsstrahlung in the Coulomb field of the atomic nucleus, use was made of (a) results of Pratt, Tseng, and collaborators based on numerical phase-shift calculations for the screened Coulomb potential at energies below 2 MeV, and (b) the analytical high-energy theory (with Coulomb corrections) of Davies, Bethe, Maximon and Olsen at energies above 50 MeV, supplemented by the Elwert Coulomb correction factor and the theory of the high-frequency limit given by Jabbur and Pratt. In the high-energy region, the effect of screening was included with use of Hartree-Fock atomic form factors. A numerical interpolation scheme, applied to suitably scaled cross sections, was used to bridge the gap between the low-energy and high-energy theoretical results, and thus to obtain improved cross sections in the intermediate-energy region 2 to 50 MeV. Bremsstrahlung in the field of the atomic electrons was calculated according to the theory of Haug, combined with screening corrections derived from Hartree-Fock incoherent scattering factors. The paper also contains numerous comparisons between calculated and measured bremsstrahlung spectra, which indicate generally good agreement.
Polarity of IAA Effect on Sieve-Tube and Xylem Regeneration in Coleus and Tomato Stems

A technique is described for the processing of regenerated xylem and sieve tubes from the same wound area for microscopic and quantitative comparison.Regeneration was examined in internodes of 2 developmental stages in Coleus: internode 2, elongating, characteristic of primary growth; and internode 5, non-elongating, characteristic of secondary growth.Transport of indoleacetic acid (IAA) in excised number 5 internodes of Coleus is strictly polar, in a basipetal direction, judging by a regeneration bioassay involving both sieve tube strands and xylem cells. Similar results were obtained with tomato.If isolated number 5 Coleus internodes are not treated with hormone, they regenerate no xylem cells and a small number of sieve tube strands. With increasing concentrations of IAA added apically, the number of regenerated sieve tube strands (and, with higher concentrations, of xylem cells) increases progressively up to 1% IAA, the highest concentration applied.Internode 2 of Coleus regenerates fewer xylem cells or sieve tube strands than internode 5, whether on the otherwise intact plant or with a given concentration of IAA added apically. The amount of regenerated xylem increases with added apical IAA, except that the highest concentration gives no further increase. The number of xylem cells regenerated in intact plants occurs at the same interpolated IAA concentration as in number 5 internodes. No concentration of IAA tried provided replacement of intact number of sieve tube strands in internode 2.IAA can exert a regenerative stimulus on both xylem and sieve tubes in the area immediately adjacent to the site of its application.
Characteristics of a longitudinal/transverse coupling slot in crossed rectangular waveguides

A rigorous analysis of a broad-wall slot coupler between two crossed rectangular waveguides is presented. The slot is longitudinal and offset from the center line in the main guide and is centered transverse in the branch guide. Integral equations are developed, taking into account finite wall thickness. The integral equations are then solved for the aperture electric field. Coupling slot characteristics are obtained, including the resonant length and dominant mode scattering. Numerical results for resonant length and scattering parameters are presented over a range of offsets, waveguide dimensions, and frequencies. >
Description of gluon propagation in the presence of an A**2 condensate

There is a good deal of current interest in the condensate which has been seen to play an important role in calculations which make use of the operator product expansion. That development has led to the publication of a large number of papers which discuss how that condensate could play a role in a gauge-invariant formulation. In the present work we consider gluon propagation in the presence of such a condensate which we assume to be present in the vacuum. We show that the gluon propagator has no on-mass-shell pole and, therefore, a gluon cannot propagate over extended distances. That is, the gluon is a nonpropagating mode in the gluon condensate. In the present work we discuss the properties of both the Euclidean-space and Minkowski-space gluon propagator. In the case of the Euclidean-space propagator we can make contact with the results of QCD lattice calculations of the propagator in the Landau gauge. With an appropriate choice of normalization constants, we present a unified representation of the gluon propagator that describes both the Minkowski-space and Euclidean-space dynamics in which the condensate plays an important role.
Interleukin-2-Responsive Wound-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Surgical Adjuvant Cancer Immunotherapy

Wound-infiltrating lymphocytes (WIL) were assessed in murine models of localized sarcoma and carcinoma to evaluate the role of interleukin-2 (IL-2)-responsive lymphocytes in adjuvant immunotherapy. Following tumor resection, IL-2 or diluent was injected at the surgical site for 6 days. Surgical site tissues were harvested and digested in a triple enzyme mixture, and single cell suspensions were prepared. Thy 1.2+ lymphocytes were isolated by incubating cells with monoclonal anti-Thy 1.2 antibody-coated magnetic beads. Lymphocyte-bead complexes were extracted with a magnet and cultured in medium containing IL-2 (100 units/ml) for 1-3 weeks. Perioperative IL-2 immunotherapy led to a three- to four-fold increase in WIL yield. WIL from IL-2-treated mice also demonstrated enhanced cytolysis of the autologous tumor and bound to activated endothelial cells with greater avidity than did the controls. We conclude that perioperative IL-2 therapy augments the yield, as well as the cytolytic and adhesive properties, of wound-infiltrating lymphocytes.
Op-Glyph: a tool for exploring op art representation of height and vector field data

We report our experiences with application of the optical art techniques of Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley to visualization of height field and vector field data. The bold use of color and simple form in Op Art engages the preattentive processing ability of the human visual system, facilitating a nearly instantaneous perception of image properties without the need for extended scrutiny of component parts. A software system called Op-Glyph was constructed to illustrate the Op Art method for data visualization, providing a user with extensive control over a visual representation's primitives, including shape, size, and color. Initial results suggest that this glyph-based approach to data visualization may be a viable alternative or complement to more complex representation schemes, particularly in situations where there are limited processing or graphical capabilities, such as with PDAs.
Texas, New Mexico, and the Compromise of 1850: Boundary Dispute and Sectional Crisis

Writing on the Texas-New Mexico boundary issue, the author of this book provides an analysis of the dispute, the compromise, and the overall implications for the Civil War. He examines the crisis through a close reading of Texan and New Mexican documents, government papers and other data.
Patient selection for hemiablative focal therapy of prostate cancer: variables predictive of tumor unilaterality based upon radical prostatectomy.

BACKGROUND: The application of focal therapy for low-risk prostate cancer (PCa) depended on appropriate patient selection. No definitive criteria existed to characterize patients who may potentially benefit from an organ-sparing approach. We evaluated pretreatment clinical parameters that may predict unilateral PCa amenable to hemigland thermoablation. METHODS: In total, 538 patients with complete data from the Duke Prostate Center (DPC) Outcomes database with low- to low-intermediate–risk PCa (prostate-specific antigen<10 ng/mL, biopsy Gleason score ≤7, and clinical stage T1c-T2b) treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) were included in the dataset. Patients underwent diagnostic prostate biopsy (PBx) at Duke or community hospitals from 1996 to 2006. Clinical and biopsy parameters were assessed as to the ability to predict PCa unilaterality verified by RP pathology. RESULTS: The strongest predictor of pathologic unilaterality was PBx unilaterality. The sensitivity and specificity for biopsy unilaterality to predict pathologic unilaterality was 88.4% and 34%, with a positive predictive value of 28% and a negative predictive value of 91%. PBx unilaterality (odds ratio [OR] = 3.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.14-7.05; P < .0005) and negative family history of PCa (OR = 1.83; 95% CI, 1.09-3.05; P = .21) was associated with a higher probability of unilateral disease by multivariate regression. CONCLUSIONS: Two pretreatment clinical variables were significantly predictive of unilateral PCa: negative family history of PCa and PBx unilaterality. These variables may be used to select men with low- to low-moderate–risk PCa for hemiablation. Further work is necessary to decrease the false-negative and false-positive rates associated with PBx to improve predictability for PCa laterality. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.
Redundant Leading and following Zeros in Comparative Numerical Judgment

The objective was to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how people make numerical comparative judgments when digits are contained in numbers with redundant leading or following zeros, e.g., 00080 and 800.000. These sequences of numbers often appear on computer display terminals (VDT) as line numbers, but surprisingly little research has been done on this. The experiment manipulated three aspects of numerical stimuli: (1) redundant leading zeros, (2) redundant following zeros, and (3) length of string of digits. The subjects were to push one of the two button-switches to respond whether two stimulus numbers shown on the computer screen were equal or unequal. The target stimuli contained several forms of redundant zeros, and each performance was assessed by response RT of the subjects. Analysis indicated five significant findings: (1) Redundant leading zeros hindered performance, (2) The effect of redundant following zeros depended on the stimulus type, (3) Over-all, longer digits took more processing time, (4) The RTs for the second-block trials were significantly faster than the first, and (5) Task performance was facilitated when the redundant zero representations were identical in both stimuli of a pair. Nonlexicographic processing seems to occur when feature identification can be used for numerical identification, that is, when the format is consistent. The research has implications for those in computer science to provide numerical formats which make comparative judgments as easy as possible.
Learning about work at dinnertime: language socialization in dual-earner American families

The relation between work and family is a topic of considerable research and analysis across disciplines. Yet, few studies have examined how children are socialized into working family life through...
The effectiveness of a national communication campaign using religious leaders to reduce HIV-related stigma in Ghana.

This article describes the effects of a national mass media and community-level stigma-reduction programme in Ghana, in which national and local religious leaders urged their congregations and the general public to have greater compassion for people living with HIV or AIDS (PLHA). Data were collected from men and women living in three regions, first in 2001 (n = 2 746) and again in 2003 (n = 2 926). Attitudes related to a punitive response to PLHA both improved over time and were positively associated with exposure to the programme's campaign, controlling for potential confounding variables. Respondents in the 2003 survey were 20% more likely than respondents in the 2001 survey to be willing to care for an HIV-infected relative in their own household and 40% more likely to believe that an HIV-infected female teacher should be allowed to continue teaching. Overall, respondents exposed to the campaign were 45% more likely than those not exposed to it to be willing to care for a HIV-infected relative, and 43...
Ontogeny of beta-adrenergic receptors in the rat lung: effects of hypothyroidism.

Beta-Adrenergic receptors were identified in membrane fractions of rat lung with the beta-adrenergic antagonists (-)-[3H]-dihydroalprenolol (-)-[3H]DHA) and (+/-)-[125I]-iodohydroxybenzylpindolol ((+/-)-[125I]HYP). Binding capacity (Bmax) for (-)-[3H]DHA increased progressively from 46 +/- 7 on day 18 of gestation to 510 +/- 70 femtomoles . mg-1 protein (mean +/- S.D.) on postnatal day 28, at which time adult Bmax was attained. An increase in (-)-[3H]DHA binding capacity of the lung was observed between postnatal days 15 and 28, during the known period of increased thyroid gland secretory activity, serum triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) concentrations in the rat. We therefore studied lung beta-adrenergic receptors in rat pups made hypothyroid with propylthiouracil (PTU) (in utero and postnatally) compared to normal age-matched control pups and to euthyroid pups which were treated with PTU but were also injected daily with thyroxine (T4-treated). Hypothyroid pups grew nearly normally until postnatal day 15 but grew poorly thereafter; but day 28 somatic and lung weight, lung DNA, and protein were markedly decreased in hypothyroid pups as compared to controls. Pulmonary beta-adrenergic receptors were similar in hypothyroid pups and controls on day 15, but were markedly decreased in hypothyroid pups on day 28 (294 +/- 57 versus 489 +/- 82 femtomoles . mg-1 protein in T4 treated euthyroid controls). Treatment of the hypothyroid pups with T4 on day 25 significantly increased lung beta-adrenergic receptors to near normal concentrations by day 28. We conclude that thyroid hormones or thyroid dependent factors enhance pulmonary beta-adrenergic receptor synthesis and that thyroid hormone is required for the normal postnatal maturation of the beta-adrenergic receptor system in the rat lung.
Alanine-scanning Mutations in the “Primer Grip” of p66 HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Result in Selective Loss of RNA Priming Activity

Alanine-scanning mutants of the primer grip region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase were tested for their ability to extend RNA and DNA versions of the polypurine tract primer, and an oligonucleotide representing the 18-nucleotide sequence at the 3′ end of tRNALys3. A majority of the mutant enzymes were either completely or severely deficient in RNA priming activity, but, with only one exception, were able to efficiently extend DNA versions of the same primers. The mutant enzymes were able to bind to RNA primers, indicating that the defect in RNA priming was not simply a loss of binding activity. Mutations at positions 229, 233, and 235 dramatically reduced the amount of specific RNase H cleavage at the 3′ terminus of the polypurine tract, which is required for primer removal. An alanine substitution at position 232 led to loss of cleavage specificity, although total activity was close to the wild-type level. Taken together, these results demonstrate for the first time that there are residues in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase which are specifically involved in protein-nucleic acid interactions with RNA primers.
Interpretation of the R2 Index in Regression Models of Judgment

Work on an artifact in the multiple correlation coefficient (Rs) identified by Schenck and Naylor (1968) is extended. The direction and magnitude of the artifactual effect is shown to depend upon the nature of the experimental and task conditions. Use of an alternative index is recommended.
Optimum abstinence time for cryopreservation of semen in cancer patients

AbstractAlthough an abstinence period of 48 to 72 hours is the most commonly prescribed interval for diagnostic semen analysis, to our knowledge the association between the abstinence period and sperm quality after cryopreservation has not been identified. Patients with a malignant disease who are consulting for semen banking most often require urgent therapy. Consequently, defining the shortest abstinence period that allows for frequent semen collection within a limited interval and the best post-thaw sperm quality is necessary. We investigated the relationship between abstinence period, and the pre-freeze and post-thaw motility variables in semen specimens obtained from cancer patients for sperm banking. Samples collected from 95 patients were divided according to abstinence period: group 1--15 patients at 24 to less than 48 hours, group 2--53 at 48 to less than 72 hours and group 3--27 at more than 72 hours. Pre-freeze and post-thaw motile sperm count and motion variables (motility, velocity, linearity...
Loss of the heparan sulfate sulfotransferase, Ndst1, in mammary epithelial cells selectively blocks lobuloalveolar development in mice.

Background Considerable evidence indicates that heparan sulfate is essential for the development of tissues consisting of branching ducts and tubules. However, there are few examples where specific sulfate residues regulate a specific stage in the formation of such tissues. Methodology/Principal Findings We examined the role of heparan sulfation in mammary gland branching morphogenesis, lactation and lobuloalveolar development by inactivation of heparan sulfate GlcNAc N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase genes (Ndst) in mammary epithelial cells using the Cre-loxP system. Ndst1 deficiency resulted in an overall reduction in glucosamine N-sulfation and decreased binding of FGF to mammary epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo. Mammary epithelia lacking Ndst1 underwent branching morphogenesis, filling the gland with ductal tissue by sexual maturity to the same extent as wildtype epithelia. However, lobuloalveolar expansion did not occur in Ndst1-deficient animals, resulting in insufficient milk production to nurture newly born pups. Lactational differentiation of isolated mammary epithelial cells occurred appropriately via stat5 activation, further supporting the notion that the lack of milk production was due to lack of expansion of the lobuloalveoli. Conclusions/Significance These findings demonstrate a selective, highly penetrant, cell autonomous effect of Ndst1-mediated sulfation on lobuloalveolar development.
miR-221/222 Compensates for Skp2-Mediated p27 Degradation and Is a Primary Target of Cell Cycle Regulation by Prostacyclin and cAMP

p27kip1 (p27) is a cdk-inhibitory protein with an important role in the proliferation of many cell types. SCFSkp2 is the best studied regulator of p27 levels, but Skp2-mediated p27 degradation is not essential in vivo or in vitro. The molecular pathway that compensates for loss of Skp2-mediated p27 degradation has remained elusive. Here, we combine vascular injury in the mouse with genome-wide profiling to search for regulators of p27 during cell cycling in vivo. This approach, confirmed by RT-qPCR and mechanistic analysis in primary cells, identified miR-221/222 as a compensatory regulator of p27. The expression of miR221/222 is sensitive to proteasome inhibition with MG132 suggesting a link between p27 regulation by miRs and the proteasome. We then examined the roles of miR-221/222 and Skp2 in cell cycle inhibition by prostacyclin (PGI2), a potent cell cycle inhibitor acting through p27. PGI2 inhibited both Skp2 and miR221/222 expression, but epistasis, ectopic expression, and time course experiments showed that miR-221/222, rather than Skp2, was the primary target of PGI2. PGI2 activates Gs to increase cAMP, and increasing intracellular cAMP phenocopies the effect of PGI2 on p27, miR-221/222, and mitogenesis. We conclude that miR-221/222 compensates for loss of Skp2-mediated p27 degradation during cell cycling, contributes to proteasome-dependent G1 phase regulation of p27, and accounts for the anti-mitogenic effect of cAMP during growth inhibition.
Clustering microarray-derived gene lists through implicit literature relationships

Motivation: Microarrays rapidly generate large quantities of gene expression information, but interpreting such data within a biological context is still relatively complex and laborious. New methods that can identify functionally related genes via shared literature concepts will be useful in addressing these needs. Results: We have developed a novel method that uses implicit literature relationships (concepts related via shared, intermediate concepts) to cluster related genes. Genes are evaluated for implicit connections within a network of biomedical objects (other genes, ontological concepts and diseases) that are connected via their co-occurrences in Medline titles and/or abstracts. On the basis of these implicit relationships, individual gene pairs are scored using a probability-based algorithm. Scores are generated for all pairwise combinations of genes, which are then clustered based on the scores. We applied this method to a test set composed of nine functional groups with known relationships. The method scored highly for all nine groups and significantly better than a benchmark co-occurrence-based method for six groups. We then applied this method to gene sets specific to two previously defined breast tumor subtypes. Analysis of the results recapitulated known biological relationships and identified novel pathway relationships unique to each tumor subtype. We demonstrate that this method provides a valuable new means of identifying and visualizing significantly related genes within gene lists via their implicit relationships in the literature. Contact: mark.burkart@utsouthwestern.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Tic modulation using sensory tricks.

Background: A sensory trick, or geste antagoniste, is defined as a physical gesture (such as a touch on a particular body part) that mitigates the production of an involuntary movement. This phenomenon is most commonly described as a feature of dystonia. Here we present a case of successful modulation of tics using sensory tricks. Case Report:: A case report and video are presented. The case and video demonstrate a 19-year-old male who successfully controlled his tics with various sensory tricks. Discussion: It is underappreciated by movement disorder physicians that sensory tricks can play a role in tics. Introducing this concept to patients could potentially help in tic control. In addition, understanding the pathophysiological underpinnings of sensory tricks could help in the understanding of the pathophysiology of tics.
Dynamics and ultrastructure of developmental cell fusions in the Caenorhabditis elegans hypodermis

Cell fusions produce multinucleate syncytia that are crucial to the structure of essential tissues in many organisms [1-5]. In humans the entire musculature, much of the placenta, and key cells in bones and blood are derived from cell fusion. Yet the developmental fusion of cell membranes has never been directly observed and is poorly understood. Similarity between viral fusion proteins and recently discovered cellular proteins implies that both cell-cell and virus-cell fusion may occur by a similar mechanism [6-8]. Paradoxically, however, fusion of enveloped viruses with cells involves an opening originating as a single pore [9-11], whereas electron microscopy studies of cell-cell fusion describe simultaneous breakdown of large areas of membrane [12, 13]. Here, we have shown that developmental cell fusion is indeed consistent with initiation by a virus-like, pore-forming mechanism. We examined live cell fusions in the epithelia of Caenorhabditis elegans embryos by a new method that integrates multiphoton, confocal, and electron microscopy. The fusion aperture always originated at a single point restricted to the apical adherens junction and widened slowly as a radial wavefront. The fusing membranes dispersed by vesiculation, rather than simple unfolding of the conjoined double bilayer. Thus, in these cells fusion appears to require two specialized sequential processes: formation of a unique primary pore and expansion of the opening by radial internalization of the interacting cell membranes.
George Eliot: Poetry, fiction and European spas

While the gambling scene that opens George Eliot's Daniel Deronda has led scholars to believe that she and George Henry Lewes abominated European spas, records of the couple's travels in Europe reveal that they returned time after time to spas in France, Belgium, Switzerland and especially Germany, and further reveal that these destinations provided considerable stimulation for George Eliot's creative imagination beyond contributing to the single scene of Gwendolen's reckless roulette.Although the Leweses did dislike the gambling at such places as Baden Baden and Bad Homburg, they otherwise enjoyed the spa culture generated by (supposedly) healing waters, concerts, society and long walks in the gardens and hills, and there George Eliot found creative inspiration for her literature, as well as acquaintances who enriched her life and her literature. Spas turn up as settings occasionally in her poetry and fiction before becoming a major setting in Daniel Deronda: centrally in 'Agatha', where she adapts settings and characters from a short visit to Sankt Margen in Germany; and tangentially in Middlemarch in the conclusion to Lydgate's plot. Fellow spa visitors make plausible models for characters, in particular a mother-and-daughter pair who share many similarities to Gwendolen and her mother Mrs Davilow, while nineteenth-century spa guide books contain narrative material similar to plot elements in Daniel Deronda. George Eliot's last two novels, as well as her less well-remembered but historically important poetry, acquired details of character, plot, setting and metaphor from nearly half a lifetime of her regularly availing herself of the culture and facilities of European spas.
Planning and Social Diversity: Residential Segregation in American New Towns

This is a comparative case study of residential segregation in three US 'new towns'. New towns are distinct from older suburban and other master-planned communities in four regards: larger size, mi...
StageWeb: Interweaving pipeline stages into a wearout and variation tolerant CMP fabric

Manufacture-time process variation and life-time failure projections have become a major industry concern. Consequently, fault tolerance, historically of interest only for mission-critical systems, is now gaining attention in the mainstream computing space. Traditionally reliability issues have been addressed at a coarse granularity, e.g., by disabling faulty cores in chip multiprocessors. However, this is not scalable to higher failure rates. In this paper, we propose StageWeb, a fine-grained wearout and variation tolerance solution, that employs a reconfigurable web of replicated processor pipeline stages to construct dependable many-core chips. The interconnection flexibility of StageWeb simultaneously tackles wearout failures (by isolating broken stages) and process variation (by selectively disabling slower stages). Our experiments show that through its wearout tolerance, a StageWeb chip performs up to 70% more cumulative work than a comparable chip multiprocessor. Further, variation mitigation in StageWeb enables it to scale supply voltage more aggressively, resulting in up to 16% energy savings.