cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Self-monitoring and performance appraisal: rating outcomes in project teams

Two studies examined the relationship between ratee self-monitoring and performance appraisal in project teams using three appraisal sources: self, peer, and supervisor. Study 1, a laboratory study, found that high self-monitoring (HSM) subjects produced self-ratings significantly higher than their low self-monitoring (LSM) counterparts. Further, higher agreement among sources occurred for LSM than for HSM subjects. HSMs' tendency to portray themselves differently to various audiences resulted in less rating convergence across sources. Study 2, employing project teams in five corporations, replicated the convergence finding. Implications for use of various sources of appraisal and for understanding the role of self-monitoring in performance appraisal are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Is genetic testing in IBD ready for prime time

In spite of the complexities of the human genome and the heterogeneity of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, enormous progress has been made in the identification of genes associated with inflammatory bowel disease (for a good review see (1)). The identification of these genes has and will continue to provide important clues to the pathogenesis of IBD. As clinicians who care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease we have several goals for genetic testing. Those goals are to predict who will get the disease, predict the disease course, and predict response to therapy. Much excitement accompanied the identification of CARD15/NOD2 as a disease susceptibility gene in patients with Crohn's disease (2,3). Part of the excitement resides in the function of the CARD15/NOD2 gene as a pathogen recognition receptor. The CARD15/NOD2 proteins encoded by the CD-associated gene variants have a decreased ability to bind to the bacterial ligand, muramyl dipeptide, resulting in a reduced capacity to activate proinflammatory signals in the presence of intracellular bacteria (4). Given the evidence that Crohn's disease results from an aberrant host immune response in the presence of luminal bacteria, CARD15/NOD2 provides an important link between genes and the microflora.
The 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid phosphatase activity of phosphoglyceric acid mutase purified from human erythrocytes☆

Abstract The partial purification of phosphoglyceric acid mutase from human erythrocytes is described. This enzyme has an absolute requirement for 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid under the conditions used for the assay. 2,3-Diphosphoglyceric acid phosphatase activity copurified with the mutase, and evidence that both of these activities are carried out by the same enzyme is reported. The phosphatase activity is markedly enhanced by inorganic pyrophosphate, 20- to 50-fold by 20 m m concentrations. In experiments utilizing 32P-labeled pyrophosphate, direct involvement in the reaction by pyrophosphate was excluded. Intracellular compounds in physiological concentrations failed to augment significantly the phosphatase activity of phosphoglyceric acid mutase. A second 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid phosphatase which is stimulated by sodium bisulfite and unassociated with mutase activity was separated from the pyrophosphate-stimulated enzyme. The relative significance of these two enzymes in the metabolism of 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid in the erythrocyte is discussed.
Differential associations between components of anxiety sensitivity and smoking-related characteristics.

Abstract Introduction Anxiety sensitivity (AS)—the tendency to fear anxiety-related experiences—is a risk factor for anxiety disorders and may contribute to smoking motivation and maintenance. Few studies have examined the relations between conceptually distinct components of AS and smoking behavior. The purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between AS components—physical concerns, mental concerns, and social concerns—and an array of smoking-related characteristics. Methods In a cross-sectional design, we administered the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) and self-report measures of tobacco dependence, smoking abstinence behavior, and smoking outcome and abstinence expectancies to 314 smokers (≥ 10 cigarettes/day, 32% female, M age = 44 years). Results The ASI Mental Concerns subscale was most clearly associated with greater difficulty maintaining abstinence and stronger expectations of smoking-related negative reinforcement and withdrawal (βs = .21–.31, ps ≤ .005); the ASI Social Concerns was most clearly associated with stronger positive reinforcement smoking expectancies (β = .20, p = .0009); and ASI Physical Concerns subscale was most clearly associated with stronger tobacco withdrawal symptoms experienced in prior quit attempts (β = .20, p = .002). Conclusions Based on these findings of patterns of associations with smoking-related characteristics across distinct components of AS, we speculate that (1) mindfulness training may be useful for treating tobacco addiction in smokers high in AS mental concerns, and (2) smokers high in AS physical and social concerns may benefit from smoking cessation treatment that incorporates interoceptive exposure and cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety, respectively.
Surface Plasmon-Enhanced Spectroscopy and Photochemistry

A review of selected recent contributions to the area plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy and photochemistry is presented.
The Kuznets Curve: What Happens After the Inverted‐U?

Recent research has posited that, in advanced economies, there is a positive correlation between in- come inequality and development. Using a new unbalanced panel dataset for 71 countries from 1961 to 1992, we present evidence that supports this conjecture. Although many factors may be contributing to this renewed positive relationship between growth and inequality, one plausible explanation rests on the shift away from a manufacturing base towards a service base in most advanced economies.
Plantar vein thrombosis: a rare cause of plantar foot pain

Plantar vein thrombosis is a rare condition, with only a handful of cases reported in the literature. The cause is unknown; however, the disease has been attributed to prior surgery, trauma, and paraneoplastic conditions. We present a case of a 32-year-old female runner with plantar vein thrombosis diagnosed on contrast-enhanced MRI and confirmed on ultrasound. The symptoms resolved with conservative treatment and evaluation revealed the presence of a prothrombin gene mutation and use of oral contraceptive pills. To our knowledge, this is the first case of plantar vein thrombosis diagnosed initially by MRI. Moreover, this case suggests that plantar vein thrombosis should be considered in patients with hypercoagulable states and plantar foot pain.
Histidine-tryptophan interactions in T4 lysozyme: ‘Anomalous’ pH dependence of fluorescence

A variant of T4 lysozyme which contains only a single tryptophan residue (at position 138) has been prepared (W126Y/W158Y designated 'YWY'). Two additional mutations to YWY have been prepared involving replacement of glutamine 105, which hydrogen bonds to the indole N-H of trp 138 in wild type, with either a histidine (YWY/Q105H) or an alanine (YWY/Q105A). The fluorescence properties of these two species are investigated as a function of pH. YWY/Q105A exhibits essentially a single exponential fluorescence decay (5% tau = 0.35 ns 95% tau = 5 ns) and almost no pH dependence in steady state or time resolved fluorescence behavior. In contrast, YWY/Q105H exhibits complex fluorescence decay over the entire pH range used in these experiments. As the pH is lowered from 8 to 4, there is an increase in the quantum yield and a change in the average lifetime (from 2.0 to 3.1 ns). Using this data, the pKa of histidine 105 has been determined to be 5.9. These results are contrasted to those from other proteins which show a pH dependent tryptophan fluorescence associated with a neighboring histidine or other residue. Quenching behavior in terms of the stereochemistry of the tryptophan-histidine interaction and implications of these results for current models of complex fluorescence behavior of single tryptophan proteins are also discussed.
Electromagnetic direct implicit plasma simulation

Abstract A 2D electromagnetic version of the direct implicit PIC algorithm has been developed and implemented in the new code AVANTI. The code has been tested on electron beam filamentation and magnetic reconnection problems and has fulfilled most of the promise of implicit PIC. It runs stably with an arbitrarily large time step and is quite robust with respect to large particle fluctuations that result when plasmas are represented with small numbers of particles per cell N c . Several numerical obstacles were overcome during the development of the AVANTI. A method of determining the implicit susceptibility ζ is described which allows the code to avoid a nonlinear instability associated with small N c We find a form of “Simplified differencing” that provides a very robust algorithm without need for explicit smoothing. Another hurdle is the solution of the EM field equations. If the collisionless skin depth is not well resolved in high density regions, the terms containing the tensor ζ dominate the E field equation and strongly couple the components. This strong coupling is handled by simultaneous solution of these equations-generalizing to simultaneous splitting in 2D. In regions where the skin depth is well resolved, terms associated with purely electromagnetic waves dominate but do not fit symmetrically into the simultaneous splitting scheme. Introducing the electrostatic potential, the troublesome asymmetric electrostatic part of E cancels but requires a fourth equation for φ to be solved simultaneously along with the three E components. Finally, extension and generalization of the conventional explicit PIC divergence correction step, necessary to maintain Gauss' law, is needed. By using a more complex form for the correction factor, one that incorporates some implicit shielding, the correction step provides an opportunity to control or prevent spuriously large implicit currents from moving across strong magnetic fields and across steep density gradients from vacuum regions.
Microvascular decompression in the management of glossopharyngeal neuralgia: analysis of 217 cases.

Objective Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) is a rare condition that often presents with the seemingly benign symptom of deep throat pain. Medical management of this condition has not been very effective, and surgical therapy has ranged from nerve sectioning to microvascular decompression (MVD). We present our experience with more than 200 patients who underwent MVD for treatment of GPN at our institution. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of our database and identified patients who presented for treatment of presumed GPN. When possible, patients were contacted by telephone for collection of follow-up information regarding symptom relief, complications, functional outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of good outcomes after MVD. Subgroup analyses were performed with quartiles of approximately 50 patients each, for assessment of the effects of improvements in techniques and anesthesia during this 20-year period. Results We observed GPN to be more common among female (66.8%) than male (33.2%) patients, with an overall mean patient age of 50.2 years (standard deviation, 14.4 yr). The most common presenting symptoms were throat and ear pain and throat pain alone, and the mean duration of symptoms was 5.7 years (standard deviation, 5.8 yr; range, 1-32 yr). Symptoms appeared almost equally on the left side (54.8%) and the right side (45.2%). The overall immediate success rate exceeded 90%, and long-term patient outcomes and satisfaction were best for the typical GPN group (with pain restricted to the throat and palate). Complication rates decreased across quartiles for all categories evaluated. Conclusion MVD is a safe, effective form of therapy for GPN. It may be most beneficial for patients with typical GPN, especially when symptoms are restricted to deep throat pain only.
Evaluation of amberlite XAD-4 for recovery of glucuronides and sulfates from aqueous solution

Abstract Amberlite XAD-4 was shown to adsorb p -nitrophenyl glucuronide more strongly than XAD-2 does. A 10-g XAD-4 column quantitatively retained over 100 μg of p -nitrophenyl glucuronide at flow-rates up to 6 ml/min. Acetone-water (1:1) was the most suitable solvent system for elution of the glucuronides and sulfates tested on XAD-4.
Cognitive and behavioral correlates of depression in learning-disabled and nonlearning-disabled adult students

Cognitive and behavioral correlates of depression were examined in 33 learning-disabled (LD) and 99 nonlearning-disabled (NLD) adult students. Self-reported depressive symptomatology was significantly correlated with dysfunctional cognitions and reinforcement level in LD students. LD students reported engaging in significantly more unpleasant activities and experiencing significantly less pleasure than NLD students. There was a nonsignificant trend for LD students to report more depression than NLD students. These results are discussed in the context of cognitive and behavioral theories of depression.
Assessing and Measuring Nonresponse in Schizophrenia

Symptom resolution, relapse prevention, and recovery of function are the goals of schizophrenia treatment. Often, clinicians rely on clinical impressions and informal interviews to judge whether treatment strategies are achieving these goals. However, measurement-based rating scales can assist clinicians in diagnosing patients, as well as in assessing their treatment response, evaluating the tolerability of adverse effects, and documenting the efficacy of treatment trials. Evaluating early treatment response or nonresponse can help clinicians in formulating long-term strategies to help patients achieve optimal outcomes.
Solution structures of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV) capsid protein major-homology-region peptide analogs by NMR spectroscopy

The capsid domain of retroviral Gag proteins possesses a single highly conserved subdomain termed the major homology region (MHR). While the mutagenesis of residues in the MHR will impair virus infectivity, the precise solution structure and function of the MHR is not known. To aid the structure/function characterization of the MHR, the structures of synthetic peptides encompassing the MHR of the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) and Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV) capsid proteins were investigated by several techniques. Homology-based secondary-structure prediction suggested that the HIV-1 and MoMLV peptides could form 50 % and 38 %α-helix, respectively. CD studies indicated that, in the presence of 50 % trifluoroethanol, the HIV-1 peptide adopts an α-helical structure over half of its length, while the MoMLV peptide is over one third α-helix. Further analysis by 1H-NMR suggested that the C-terminal portion of the MHR of each virus forms a helix in aqueous solution. Distance-geometry structures of each peptide were calculated from NOE distance restraints and were refined by restrained molecular dynamics. The C-terminal halves of both peptides were observed to be in an α-helical conformation, while the N-terminal halves were disordered. Furthermore, both helices were amphipathic with high conservation of amino acid side-chain character, suggesting that a conserved helical MHR C-terminus is essential to retroviral capsid protein function.
Massed and Spaced Extinction in an Avoidance Conditioning Situation

(1955). Massed and Spaced Extinction in an Avoidance Conditioning Situation. The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Vol. 86, No. 1, pp. 179-182.
Elastic thermal stresses in a circular overlay/rigid substrate system

Abstract When an overlay/substrate system is subjected to a temperature change, thermal stress is induced due to the difference of thermal expansion coefficients between the overlay and substrate. This paper studies elastic thermal stress distribution of a circular overlay bonded to a rigid substrate due to temperature variation. Under the plane assumption, the radial displacement in the overlay is obtained in a series form. Using a weak form boundary condition, one can obtain an approximate solution in closed form for the thermoelastic field. This approximate solution gives a description of displacement along both radial and thickness directions. Elastic thermal stress distributions are demonstrated and compared with the finite element results. An asymptotic analysis of the solution is given when the thickness of a thin film is much less than its radius. The closed-form solution is useful for stress-strain analyses and design of circular layered systems such as protective coatings and microelectromechanical components. Application of this solution in modeling spiral cracking of circular thin film/substrate is underway.
Inextensional buckling configurations of conical shells.

the use of interpolation formulas," Proceedings of the Conference on Matrix Methods in Structural Mechanics, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base/Air Force Flight Dynamics Lab. TR-66-80 (1966). 8 Grafton, P. E. and Strome, D. R., "Analysis of axisymmetric shells by the direct stiffness method," AIAA J. 1, 2342-2347 (1963). 9 Jones, R. E. and Strome, D. R., "A survey of the analysis shells by the displacement metqod," Proceedings of the Conference on Matrix Methods in Structural Mechanics, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base/Air Force Flight Dynamics Lab. TR-66-80 (1966). 10 Fulton, R. E., Eppink, R. T., and Walz, J. E., "The accuracy of finite element methods in continuum problems," Proceedings of the Fifth U. S. National Congress of Applied Mechanics(American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, 1966), p. 272. 11 Beitch, L., "Shell structures solved numerically by using a network of partial panels," AIAA/ASME Seventh Structures and Materials Conference (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, New York, 1966), pp. 35-44. 12 Timoshenko, S. and Woinowsky-Krieger, S., Theory of Plates and Shells (McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1959), pp. 501-506.
A Basic Framework for Policy Education

THIS paper was prepared for educators primarily concerned with the development of an informal adult educational program in public policy. The framework is designed from an educational operations point of view: What do you teach, who do you teach, how do you teach, and how well do you teach? I have tried to erect a sort of categorical scaffolding that makes it easier to pinpoint some of the elements that might well be included. I have tried to put these into nice, neat, little boxes. In actual practice, things are not that simple. The framework submitted for your consideration, should be looked upon as an alternative framework. You well know that an educator tends to employ methods that fit his endowments. This framework reflects my observations and experiences over a period of years. The biases and prejudices that have crept in are those of an educator who has enjoyed operating in the public policy making arena for a number of years.
Beam trajectory jitter in the SLC linac

We present model-independent measurements of the vertical trajectory jitter of the positron beam in the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) linac and discuss the results of studies aimed at isolating its source.
Kinematic and Tessellation Models Of Self-Repair

One of the causes of the great survival capability of some biological systems is the fact that they are systems of individuals such that the system behavior does not critically depend on any one individual. Such systems can be regarded as redundant systems with different kinds and levels of redundancy. For example, although each specimen of a biological society has a limited lifespan, the whole society can exist for a much longer time. This is primarily due to self-reproduction, one form of redundancy. On a lower level, the lifespan of a specimen can be larger than the lifespan of parts of the specimen. Again this is due to redundancy, but of another form if the specimen is required to have a definite internal structure.
Sex Differences in Incidence, Pathophysiology, and Outcome of Primary Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a common, yet devastating, stroke subtype. Although ethnicity and age can predispose individuals to ICH and affect outcome, little investigation has been made into investigating sex differences in incidence, pathophysiology, or outcome after ICH. In order to understand fundamental mechanisms, improve preclinical research models, and develop effective treatment options for patients with ICH, assessing the effects of sex in ICH is imperative. Thus, the purpose of this review is to gather available information on incidence, pathophysiology, outcome, and preclinical study to provide basis for further investigations. Comprehensive literature search of Medline and National Library of Medicine (PubMed) publications was performed (last accessed December 1, 2013) using ICH, gender, sex, gender difference, sex difference, race, stroke, mortality, preclinical model, animal model, and neuroprotection as keywords. Articles in English were fully reviewed and included if clear definition of primary ICH and available sex data were reported. Primary ICH was defined as intraparenchymal hemorrhage not because of trauma or underlying structural lesion, for example, aneurysm, tumor, and so on. A total of 73 articles were included: (1) epidemiological studies assessing incidence and outcome (47 articles); (2) hospital-based studies assessing hematoma characteristics, treatment response, ICH-related complications or goals of care (14 articles); and (3) preclinical studies assessing gonadal hormones effects on ICH outcomes (12 articles). Published data are reported in chronological and geographical manner. Significant P values, relative risk (RR), odds ratios (OR), and confidence intervals (CI) are noted when available. Notably, epidemiological stroke studies generally treat ICH as a stroke subtype. Further, African and Indian population studies were absent from the literature. Over the last few decades, incidence of primary ICH in developed countries is unchanged or, perhaps, decreasing.4–8 Decreasing incidence may be attributable to greater public awareness of preventive measures, such as healthy lifestyle …
TLR2 Signaling Depletes IRAK1 and Inhibits Induction of Type I IFN by TLR7/9

Pathogens may signal through multiple TLRs with synergistic or antagonistic effects on the induction of cytokines, including type I IFN (IFN-I). IFN-I is typically induced by TLR9, but not TLR2. Moreover, we previously reported that TLR2 signaling by Mycobacterium tuberculosis or other TLR2 agonists inhibited TLR9 induction of IFN-I and IFN-I–dependent MHC-I Ag cross processing. The current studies revealed that lipopeptide-induced TLR2 signaling inhibited induction of first-wave IFN-α and IFN-β mRNA by TLR9, whereas induction of second-wave IFN-I mRNA was not inhibited. TLR2 also inhibited induction of IFN-I by TLR7, another MyD88-dependent IFN-I–inducing receptor, but did not inhibit IFN-I induction by TLR3 or TLR4 (both Toll/IL-1R domain-containing adapter-inducing IFN-β dependent, MyD88 independent). The inhibitory effect of TLR2 was not dependent on new protein synthesis or intercellular signaling. IL-1R–associated kinase 1 (IRAK1) was depleted rapidly (within 10 min) by TLR2 agonist, but not until later (e.g., 2 h) by TLR9 agonist. Because IRAK1 is required for TLR7/9-induced IFN-I production, we propose that TLR2 signaling induces rapid depletion of IRAK1, which impairs IFN-I induction by TLR7/9. This novel mechanism, whereby TLR2 inhibits IFN-I induction by TLR7/9, may shape immune responses to microbes that express ligands for both TLR2 and TLR7/TLR9, or responses to bacteria/virus coinfection.
Differential Information Processing by Hippocampal and Subicular Neurons

It has been known for some years that hippocampal neurons are critically involved in processing of information necessary for encoding memories. What is less understood is the role of the subiculum in this process. We describe here differential response characteristics of subicular and hippocampal neurons in rats during execution of a delayed-nonmatch-to-sample short-term memory task. Subicular neurons, unlike hippocampal neurons, fire primarily in the delay interval of the task and appear to provide a temporal linkage between events encoded in hippocampus during the sample and nonmatch phases. Indeed, a large proportion of subicular neurons fire robustly for the entire duration of the delay only. Further analyses using electrical activation methods indicate that subicular neurons that receive short latency inputs from the anterior thalamus and do not project to cingulate cortex are the most responsive to stimuli with behavioral significance.
Deconstructing the Network Layer

In the current Internet architecture, functions such as addressing, routing, and forwarding are entangled. Among other consequences, this makes it difficult to modify one without affecting the others, and obscures the role of policy at various places in the architecture. This paper considers a network layer designed as a set of separable component mechanisms that work together to provide a best-effort datagram service. Our thesis is that separating concerns makes the architecture more flexible and robust. After presenting the functions that make up the recursive (hierarchical) routing and forwarding service, we discuss the initialization process. The separation and delegation of functions, along with the use of flat, topology-independent identifiers, allows the architecture to be self-configuring as much as possible, leaving the components whose function is affected by policy to be configured.
Radiolocator Design: Power Measurement and Digital Data Path

In this chapter, we continue to follow the radiolocation signal through the data-collection stages: to power measurement and digitization of the power level, then onto gathering, formatting, and communication of radiolocation data to the supporting systems.
Myostatin blockade with a fully human monoclonal antibody induces muscle hypertrophy and reverses muscle atrophy in young and aged mice

Loss of skeletal muscle mass and function in humans is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The role of myostatin as a key negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass and function has supported the concept that inactivation of myostatin could be a useful approach for treating muscle wasting diseases. We generated a myostatin monoclonal blocking antibody (REGN1033) and characterized its effects in vitro using surface plasmon resonance biacore and cell-based Smad2/3 signaling assays. REGN1033 was tested in mice for the ability to induce skeletal muscle hypertrophy and prevent atrophy induced by immobilization, hindlimb suspension, or dexamethasone. The effect of REGN1033 on exercise training was tested in aged mice. Messenger RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and ex vivo force measurements were performed on skeletal muscle samples from REGN1033-treated mice. The human monoclonal antibody REGN1033 is a specific and potent myostatin antagonist. Chronic treatment of mice with REGN1033 increased muscle fiber size, muscle mass, and force production. REGN1033 prevented the loss of muscle mass induced by immobilization, glucocorticoid treatment, or hindlimb unweighting and increased the gain of muscle mass during recovery from pre-existing atrophy. In aged mice, REGN1033 increased muscle mass and strength and improved physical performance during treadmill exercise. We show that specific myostatin antagonism with the human antibody REGN1033 enhanced muscle mass and function in young and aged mice and had beneficial effects in models of skeletal muscle atrophy.
Caveolin-1 Confers Antiinflammatory Effects in Murine Macrophages via the MKK3/p38 MAPK Pathway

Caveolin-1 has been reported to regulate apoptosis, lipid metabolism, and endocytosis in macrophages. In the present study, we demonstrate that caveolin-1 can act as a potent immunomodulatory molecule. We first observed caveolin-1 expression in murine alveolar macrophages by Western blotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. Loss-of-function experiments using small interfering RNA showed that down regulating caveolin-1 expression in murine alveolar and peritoneal macrophages increased LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha and IL-6 production but decreased anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 production. Gain-of-function experiments demonstrated that overexpression of caveolin-1 in RAW264.7 cells decreased LPS-induced TNF-alpha and IL-6 production and augmented IL-10 production. p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation was increased by overexpressing caveolin-1 in RAW264.7 cells, whereas c-Jun N-terminal kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase MAPK, and Akt phosphorylation were inhibited. The antiinflammatory modulation of LPS-induced cytokine production by caveolin-1 was significantly abrogated by the administration of p38 inhibitor SB203580 in RAW264.7 cells. Peritoneal macrophages isolated from MKK3 null mice did not demonstrate any modulation of LPS-induced cytokine production by caveolin-1. LPS-induced activation of NF-kappaB and AP-1 determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay were significantly reduced by overexpressing caveolin-1 in RAW264.7 cells. The reductions were attenuated by the administration of p38 inhibitor SB203580. Taken together, our data suggest that caveolin-1 acts as a potent immunomodulatory effector molecule in immune cells and that the regulation of LPS-induced cytokine production by caveolin-1 involves the MKK3/p38 MAPK pathway.
Parameter optimization of deterministic dynamic element matching DACs for accurate and cost-effective ADC testing

Deterministic dynamic element matching (DDEM) is applied to low accuracy DACs for high resolution ADC test. The testing accuracy is impressive while the test cost is relatively low. This work tries to further optimize the DDEM parameters based on improving the test accuracy and reducing the test hardware and computation cost. The optimization is accomplished by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. Some typical parameter values are suggested by this work.
Medications development to treat alcohol dependence: a vision for the next decade

More than 76 million people world-wide are estimated to have diagnosable alcohol use disorders (AUDs) (alcohol abuse or dependence), making these disorders a major global health problem. Pharmacotherapy offers promising means for treating AUDs, and significant progress has been made in the past 20 years. The US Food and Drug Administration approved three of the four medications for alcoholism in the last two decades. Unfortunately, these medications do not work for everyone, prompting the need for a personalized approach to optimize clinical benefit or more efficacious medications that can treat a wider range of patients, or both. To promote global health, the potential reorganization of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must continue to support the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's (NIAAA's) vision of ensuring the development and delivery of new and more efficacious medications to treat AUDs in the coming decade. To achieve this objective, the NIAAA Medications Development Team has identified three fundamental long-range goals: (1) to make the drug development process more efficient; (2) to identify more efficacious medications, personalize treatment approaches, or both; and (3) to facilitate the implementation and adaptation of medications in real-world treatment settings. These goals will be carried out through seven key objectives. This paper describes those objectives in terms of rationale and strategy. Successful implementation of these objectives will result in the development of more efficacious and safe medications, provide a greater selection of therapy options and ultimately lessen the impact of this devastating disorder.
Physical Attractiveness and Popularity: A Predictive Study:

The purpose of the study was to identify physical attractiveness as a causal antecedent to sociometric choice in kindergarten children. This required an assessment of attractiveness, unbiased by pr...
Mycorrhizae (VAM) of soybean in soil toposequences and mycorrhizal dependency of corn and soybean cultivars

Distribution of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (VAMF) in relation to soil drainage and toposequences is not well documented. The objective of this study was to determine whether soil drainage and position in the toposequence affects VAMF spore production and colonization of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) roots. Plant roots and rhizosphere soils were sampled from four locations each of three paired soils, varying in soil drainage classes, from two toposequences: Clarion-Nicollet-Webster (CNW) and Sharpsburg-Macksburg-Winterset (SMW). Soils were analyzed for chemical properties, and VAMF spores per 50 g soil were determined by a wet-sieving-and-decanting technique. The percentages of root VAMF colonization were determined by the grid-line intersect method. The distribution of spores among locations, series, and series within locations varied significantly (P < 0.001). Soil from the CNW toposequence averaged 417 spores (50 g)' soil, whereas soil from the SMW toposequence averaged 147 spores (50 g)' soil. Within the two toposequences, the poorly to somewhat-poorly drained soils had higher spore counts than the well-drained to moderately-well drained soils. In the CNW toposequence, the mean spore counts of Nicollet and Webster soils (poorer drained) were 137% higher than Clarion soils (better drained). In the SMW toposequence, the mean spore counts of Macksburg and Winterset soils (poorer drained) were 206% higher than Sharpsburg soils (better drained). VAMF colonization of roots ranged from 74 to 88% in the CNW toposequence and from 68 to 86% in the SMW toposequence. No correlation was found between spore count and VAMF colonization. Further research is needed to determine if higher spore counts in poorly drained soils is related to changes in fungal growth patterns or is due to movement and deposition of spores with surface flow of water.
Bit Error Rate of Noncoherent MFSK with S+N Selection Combining in Two Wave with Diffuse Power Fading

The performance of noncoherent M-ary frequency-shift keying (MFSK) with L branch signal-plus-noise (S+N) selection combining (SC) in two wave with diffuse power (TWDP) fading is studied. The fading on the diversity branches are assumed to be independent but not necessarily identically distributed. Two S+N SC receiver structures are examined and for each receiver a tractable bit error rate expression is derived. The effects of fading parameters on the relative performances of S+N SC and classical SC receivers are studied. Monte Carlo simulation results are presented to validate the obtained theoretical results.
Simple Snowdrift Model for Distributed Hydrological Modeling

A simple snowdrift model was developed, incorporated into a distributed winter-time hydrological model, and tested against snow measurements from a hillside in eastern Washington State. Snow movement can be an important factor in the distribution of spring soil moisture and runoff. Although current hydrological models often attempt to account for heterogeneities in precipitation distribution, they do not account for snowdrift. Snow melts and accumulates during the same times that it is redistributed. Therefore, evaluation required a snowmelt/accumulation model to be coupled with the snowdrift model. The snowmelt/accumulation model used the standard energy balance approach and performed well, i.e., standard errors of snow water equivalent '1 cm. The snowdrift model's simulated snow distribution generally agreed with observed snow distribution across a hill. Most notable were the model's ability to correctly place a snowdrift on the lee side of the hill and its ability to predict snow removal from nondrift areas. The effects of snow redistribution and the model's ability to reproduce these were obvious when overlaid on model results that ignored snowdrift.
PEG-ing down (and preventing?) the cause of pegloticase failure

Pegloticase is a powerful but underutilized weapon in the rheumatologist’s armamentarium. The drug’s immunogenicity leads to neutralizing antibody formation and rapid loss of efficacy in roughly one-half of all patients, which remains an impediment to broader use. New data, however, suggest that drug survival might improve with concomitant immunosuppressive agent (s), which merits further study. Efficacy appears to be unchanged when pegloticase is infused at 3-week (rather than 2-week) intervals. Stretching the time between infusions may also improve patient adherence and allow for earlier identification of transient responders.
Effect of Posterior Cruciate Ligament Deficiency on In Vivo Translation and Rotation of the Knee During Weightbearing Flexion

BackgroundThe effect of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) deficiency on 6 degrees of freedom in vivo knee-joint kinematics is unclear.HypothesisIn addition to constraining anterior-posterior translation, the PCL also functions to constrain the medial-lateral translation and rotation of the knee during weightbearing flexion of the knee.Study DesignControlled laboratory study.MethodsEight patients with a PCL injury in 1 knee and the other intact were scanned with magnetic resonance imaging, and 3-dimensional models of the femur and tibia were created for both knees. Each knee was imaged during quasistatic weightbearing flexion (from 0° to 105°) using a dual-orthogonal fluoroscopic system. The translation and rotation of the PCL-deficient knee were compared with the intact contralateral control.ResultsPosterior cruciate ligament deficiency caused an increase in posterior tibial translation beyond 30° of flexion compared with the intact contralateral knees. At 90° of flexion, PCL deficiency increased posterio...
Reactivity and sintering kinetics of Au/TiO 2 (110) model catalysts: particle size effects

We review here our studies of the reactivity and sintering kinetics of model catalysts consisting of gold nanoparticles dispersed on TiO2(110). First, the nucleation and growth of vapor-deposited gold on this surface was experimentally examined using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy ion scattering. Gold initially grows as two-dimensional islands up to a critical coverage, θ cr, after which 3D gold nanoparticles grow. The results at different temperatures are fitted well with a kinetic model, which includes various energetic parameters for Au adatom migration. Oxygen was dosed onto the resulting gold nanoparticles using a hot filament technique. The desorption energy of Oa was examined using temperature programmed desorption (TPD). The Oa is bonded ~40% more strongly to smaller (thinner) Au islands. Gaseous CO reacts rapidly with this Oa to make CO2, probably via adsorbed CO. The reactivity of Oa with CO increases with increasing particle size, as expected based on Bronsted relations. Propene adsorption leads to TPD peaks for three different molecularly adsorbed states on Au/TiO2(110), corresponding to propene adsorbed on gold islands, to Ti sites on the substrate, and to the perimeter of gold islands, with adsorption energies of 40, 52 and 73 kJ/mol, respectively. Thermal sintering of the gold nanoparticles was explored using temperature-programmed low-energy ion scattering. These sintering rates for a range of Au loadings at temperatures from 200 to 700 K were well fitted by a theoretical model which takes into consideration the dramatic effect of particle size on metal chemical potential using a modified bond additivity model. When extrapolated to simulate isothermal sintering at 700 K for 1 year, the resulting particle size distribution becomes very narrow. These results question claims that the shape of particle size distributions reveal their sintering mechanisms. They also suggest why the growth of colloidal nanoparticles in liquid solutions can result in very narrow particle size distributions.
Performance of high-speed networks for multimedia applications

The real-time performance of several existing local area network medium-access protocols under high-speed data transfer rates is studied. the goal is to determine the limitations in the ability of the protocols to guarantee on-time delivery of messages for different types of multimedia applications.
A Discussion of Sampling Theorems

The convolution theorem of Fourier analysis is a convenient tool for the derivation of a number of sampling theorems. This approach has been used by several authors to discuss first-order sampling of functions whose spectrum is limited to a region including the origin ("low-pass" functions). The present paper extends this technique to several other cases: second-order sampling of low-pass and band-pass functions, quadrature and Hilbert-transform sampling, sampling of periodic functions, and simultaneous sampling of a function and of one or more of its derivatives.
Unsupervised Modeling of Signs Embedded in Continuous Sentences

The common practice in sign language recognition is to ?rst construct individual sign models, in terms of discrete state transitions, mostly represented using Hidden Markov Models, from manually isolated sign samples and then to use it to recognize signs in continuous sentences. In this paper we (i) propose a continuous state space model, where the states are based on purely image-based features, without the use of special gloves, and (ii) present an unsupervised approach to both extract and learn models for continuous basic units of signs, which we term as signemes, from continuous sentences. Given a set of sentences with a common sign, we can automatically learn the model for part of the sign, or signeme, that is least affected by coarticulation effects. While there are coarticulation effects in speech recognition, these effects are even stronger in sign language. The model itself is in term of traces in a space of Relational Distributions. Each point in this space represents a Relational Distribution, capturing the spatial relationships between low-level features, such as edge points. We perform speed normalization and then incrementally extract the common sign between sentences, or signemes, with a dynamic programming framework at the core to compute warped distance between two subsentences. We test our idea using the publicly available Boston SignStream Dataset by building signeme models of 18 signs. We test the quality of the models by considering how well we can localize the sign in a new sentence. We also present preliminary results for the ability to generalize across signers.
Improving the Purity of One‐ and Two‐qubit Gates

We investigate the influence of AC driving fields on the coherence properties of one- and two-qubit gate operations. In both cases, we find that for suitable driving parameters, the gate purity improves significantly. A mapping of the time-dependent system-bath model to an effective static model provides analytical results. The resulting purity loss compares favorably with numerical results.
In vitro comparison of the two hard-hard articulations for total hip replacements.

AbstractPolyethylene particle disease is one of the major causes of late aseptic loosening of total hip replacement. Two hard-hard articulations (alumina-on-alumina and metal-on-metal) have been developed in Europe as an alternative to the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) articulations. Even though these hard-hard articulations are on the market and numerous reports have been published about them, only a very limited number of studies allowing a direct in vitro comparison of the two articulations have been published so far.This paper compares in vitro these two types of articulation (alumina-on-alumina and metal-on-metal), which have been tested with a hip simulator for their tribological behaviour using exactly the same experimental methodology. This comparison shows that these two types of hard-hard articulation have very similar abrasive wear behaviour with four main features:1.A running-in wear period (1 × 106 cycles) gives a cumulative wear of about 20 μm with head diameters of 28 mm...
Poly(propylene fumarate) reinforced dicalcium phosphate dihydrate cement composites for bone tissue engineering.

Calcium phosphate cements have many desirable properties for bone tissue engineering, including osteoconductivity, resorbability, and amenability to rapid prototyping-based methods for scaffold fabrication. In this study, we show that dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) cements, which are highly resorbable but also inherently weak and brittle, can be reinforced with poly(propylene fumarate) (PPF) to produce strong composites with mechanical properties suitable for bone tissue engineering. Characterization of DCPD–PPF composites revealed significant improvements in mechanical properties for cements with a 1.0 powder to liquid ratio. Compared with nonreinforced controls, flexural strength improved from 1.80 ± 0.19 MPa to 16.14 ± 1.70 MPa, flexural modulus increased from 1073.01 ± 158.40 MPa to 1303.91 ± 110.41 MPa, maximum displacement during testing increased from 0.11 ± 0.04 mm to 0.51 ± 0.09 mm, and work of fracture improved from 2.74 ± 0.78 J/m2 to 249.21 ± 81.64 J/m2. To demonstrate the utility of our approach for scaffold fabrication, 3D macroporous scaffolds were prepared with rapid prototyping technology. Compressive testing revealed that PPF reinforcement increased scaffold strength from 0.31 ± 0.06 MPa to 7.48 ± 0.77 MPa. Finally, 3D PPF–DCPD scaffolds were implanted into calvarial defects in rabbits for 6 weeks. Although the addition of mesenchymal stem cells to the scaffolds did not significantly improve the extent of regeneration, numerous bone nodules with active osteoblasts were observed within the scaffold pores, especially in the peripheral regions. Overall, the results of this study suggest that PPF–DCPD composites may be promising scaffold materials for bone tissue engineering. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A, 2012.
Apoptotic responses common to cancer and inflammation

The pathobiology of chronic inflammation and of cancer share many common attributes. Both can be considered “nonhealing wounds” due to the loss of normal tissue integrity. Both show evidence of dysregulated proliferation of particular cell types and consequently both are associated with hyperplasias. In addition, both chronic inflammation and cancer are also dependent on subverting the process of programmed cell death. The term “apoptosis” was first coined over 30 years ago to describe the morphological phenomenon known as programmed cell death [1]. In that time, many researchers have teased out the intricate pathways responsible for generating apoptotic responses in various cell types and in different contexts. We can now broadly divide apoptotic responses into two main types, extrinsic and intrinsic, although these are not mutually exclusive.