cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhanced sensitivity of young suckling rats to the toxic effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.

The responses of suckling rat pups of different ages to high doses of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) were determined. Four daily oral doses of 1,25(OH)2D3 (2 ng/g body wt) given to 9–13-day-old pups produced severe hypercalcemia 24 h after the last dose (15.52 ± 0.14 mg/dl vs. 10.94 ± 0.15 mg/dl in controls of the same age) and a 9-fold increase in kidney Ca content; the same doses given to 16–20-day-old pups produced only modest hypercalcemia (12.34 ± 0.22 mg/dl vs. 10.57 ± 0.22 mg/dl in controls of the same age) and a 4-fold increase in kidney Ca content. There was no change in serum phosphorus (P) at either age. Six-week-old weaned rats, given the same doses of 1,25(OH)2D3, showed neither hypercalcemia nor kidney calcification and thus were protected against the toxic effects of the treatment. The difference in responses of the twoages of suckling pups was also observed with lower doses. Removal of the solid food from the diet of the 16–20-day pups showed that the consumption of solid food, in addition to milk, in this age group was not the cause of the lower serum Ca response. The changes in both serum and kidney Ca after intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of 1,25(OH)2D3 at the same dose in each age group were similar to those observed with oral administration. The time course of the rise in serum Ca following a single dose of 1,25(OH)2D3, given either orally or i.p., showed that the hypercalcemia was more pronounced and lasted longer in the 9–13-day pups than in the 16–20-day pups. The results suggest that weaned rats are relatively well protected against hypervitaminosis D and that younger pups gradually develop such protection during the suckling period.
Amino acid sequences of neurotoxic protein variants from the venom of Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing.

Abstract The venom from the scorpion, Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing (range, Southwestern United States), was fractionated into ten protein zones by chromatography on CM-cellulose. Further purification of three of these zones on DEAE Sephadex in ammonium acetate developers yielded three principal neurotoxins designated variants 1, 2, and 3. Variants 1 and 3 each consist of 65 amino acid residues, variant 2 is composed of 66 residues, and each variant is a single polypeptide chain crosslinked by four disulfide bridges. The three variants have lysine at the amino terminus, serine at the carboxyl terminus, and their sequences exhibit a high degree of homology. The complete structure of variant 2 was deduced from the sequence of its tryptic peptides and overlaps provided by its chymotryptic peptides. The sequences of most of the tryptic peptides of variants 1 and 3 were determined, and the peptides were aligned by comparison with the homologous peptides in variant 2. The results show that there are 4 differences in sequence between variants 2 and 3 and 9 differences between variants 1 and 2. Variants 1 and 3 differ from each other at 5 positions in their sequences. These differences between the three protein variants are found in the amino terminal one-third of the molecules except for the deletion of one seryl residue at the carboxyl terminal of variants 1 and 3.
Selective, prolonged alteration of complement-mediated immune clearance after acute exposure of mice to ethanol.

A selective and prolonged alteration in complement-mediated immune clearance was found in mice given a single intraperitoneal injection of ethanol. Rate constants for the separate components of complement- and IgG Fcγ-mediated clearance were determined using a branched series, first-order reaction sequence model and measurements of the disappearance of radiolabeled IgG-opsonized murine erythrocytes from the circulation of BALB/c mice. The rate constant governing immune clearance mediated by IgG Fcγ receptors (k3) decreased to 16% of control at 1 hr after ethanol injection but returned to normal in 72 hr. A >50% decrease in complement-mediated clearance occurred, with a nadir of complement-mediated sequestration (k1) and complement-dependent phagocytosis (k4) at 1 hr (P < 0.001). In this case, however, k1 and k4 rate constant values did not return to control levels until 6 weeks after the injection of ethanol. The rate constant governing C3b deactivation and release of deactivated, sensitized cells back to the circulation before they undergo phagocytosis (k2) was initially normal, but decreased in Week 6 and remained low to the end of the observation period at 22 weeks (P < 0.0001). These changes resulted in a major reduction in overall complement-mediated immune clearance up to 4 weeks after the ethanol injection. The change to normal rates for sequestration and phagocytosis coupled with decreased deactivation and release at 6 weeks postinjection resulted in a small increase in overall complement-mediated clearance that persisted through Week 22.
A Perceptual Analysis of Standard Safety, Fluorescent, and Neon Colors

Twenty-six standard safety colors specified by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), International Standards Organization (ISO), and the Federal Highway Association (FHWA) were compared to seven fluorescent and neon colors on perceived hazard and perceived importance. Results indicated that the fluorescent orange, ANSI red, fluorescent yellow, FHWA red, fluorescent yellow green, and ISO red were the highest rated colors on perceived hazard. ANSI red, FHWA red, ISO red, fluorescent orange, fluorescent yellow, and fluorescent yellow green were rated the highest on perceived importance. The implications of these findings and the potential use of fluorescent colors in product warnings are discussed.
Role of phospholipid in the low affinity reactions between cytochrome c and cytochrome oxidase.

The steady-state oxidation of ferrocytochrome c by cytochrome oxidase monitored spectrophotometrically showed that: (1) the kinetics were strictly biphasic with purified enzyme, while mitochondrial membranebound enzyme exhibited multiphasic kinetics with extended low affinity phases; (2) the TN,, for the highest affinity phase was as slow as 5-10 electron es -’ for both preparations, while for the low affinity phases it was about 45 electron es-’ for the purified enzyme and 150 electron.s-’ for the mitochondrial membrane-bound enzyme; (3) reconstitution of purified enzyme into acidic phospholipid vesicles partially repleted the extended low affinity phases, while reconstitution into uncharged vesicles had no effect. Polyphasic kinetics Acidic phospholipid Mitochondrial membrane
Diagnosis of cystic neoplasms with endoscopic ultrasound

From the data that are currently available, it appears that EUS can help to reliably distinguish between the majority of benign and neoplastic cystic lesions. In equivocal cases, or cases where a high suspicion for malignancy exists, the use of EUS-guided FNA for obtaining cytology and cystic fluid for analysis of various tumor markers, gives the best diagnostic yield. Occasionally, despite a complete evaluation of a cystic mass, the cyst type may not be determined. The decision regarding further management of these lesions should be based on a combination of factors including symptoms, cyst size, EUS morphology and the patient's overall medical condition. In the case of symptomatic, large, or suspicious lesions where the patient is a good surgical candidate, surgical resection should be performed. However, it becomes more difficult in the case of asymptomatic, small cystic lesions where the patient is not an optimal surgical candidate. In the latter scenario, applying EUS criteria for follow-up of small pancreatic cystic lesions as reported by Ikeda et al can help in the decision-making process. In this study, Ikeda et al reported on 31 patients with pancreatic cystic lesions of unknown etiology that were followed-up with semi-annual EUS exams over a 3-year period. In 87.1% of these lesions, the size was less than 2 cm. Their criteria included 1) a clear thin wall, 2) smooth contour, 3) round or oval shape, 4) no septum or nodules, 5) asymptomatic clinical presentation, and 6) no findings of chronic pancreatitis. The cystic lesions remained stable in 30/31 patients, and only one lesion increased in size. This lesion was resected and was found to be a retention cyst. We are optimistic that the role of EUS in the management of cystic neoplasms will continue to evolve and expand as future studies evaluate the clinical utility of imaging modalities for the optimal practice algorithm for managing these neoplasms.
The Micropolitics of Social Violence

The debates of the 1990s over the causes of and responses to substate conflict were significant and wide ranging; there is now a sizable literature on ethnic conflict and civil war. But this literature makes few connections to long traditions of scholarly theorizing about collective violence in political science and in allied fields. This article examines two recent books by Mark Beissinger and Ashutosh Varshney that help turn mainstream theorizing about mass violence back toward its roots in problems of social order, state-society relations, and group mobilization. They break down the intellectual wall that has grown up between the study of something called "ethnic" or "nationalist conflict" and a long line of work on collective action in political sociology and cognate disciplines. These books are part of a new micropolitical turn in the field: a concern with uncovering the precise mechanisms by which individuals and groups go about trading in the benefits of stability for the inherently risky behavior associated with mass killing. The final section of the article assesses what such a turn might mean for research methods and theory making in comparative politics and international relations as a whole.
In vitro effect of osmotic pressure and cortisol on prolactin cell physiology in the coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) during the parr‐smolt transformation

The pituitary of the coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) was studied during the parr-smolt transformation. Changes in pituitary prolactin (PRL) synthetic rate and influences of osmotic pressure (OP) and cortisol on PRL cell activity were investigated in vitro. After 20-hr incubations in the presence of 35S-methionine, tissue and medium were separated and subjected to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; bands stained with Coomassie Blue R-250 (= total PRL) and bands on X-ray film resulting from autoradiography of the gels (= newly synthesized PRL) were quantified by soft laser densitometry. Physiological changes in medium OP exerted no detectable effect on the % release of total or newly synthesized PRL (35S-PRL), whereas some differences, mostly in the % release of 35S-PRL, were detected when extraphysiological medium OPs were used. Since OP effects on GH release are similar, these results suggest that OP has no specific direct effect on PRL release under physiological conditions. PRL synthetic rate during the parr-smolt transformation increased beginning in mid-February and peaked in mid-March, but fell to undetectable levels in mid-April; a second peak in PRL synthesis was observed in mid-May. These data are in accord with reports on plasma levels of PRL, which further indicate that cortisol levels increase during the April decline in PRL levels. Our in vitro studies demonstrate that cortisol inhibits pituitary PRL synthesis and content in a dose-related manner and also inhibits the % release of total and 35S-PRL, suggesting that cortisol may be an important regulator of PRL cell activity during the parr-smolt transformation.
Why Mass Incarceration Matters: Rethinking Crisis, Decline, and Transformation in Postwar American History

As the twentieth century came to a close and the twenty-first began, something occurred in the United States that was without international parallel or historical precedent. Between 1970 and 2010 more people were incarcerated in the United States than were imprisoned in any other country, and at no other point in its past had the nation’s economic, social, and political institutions become so bound up with the practice of punishment. By 2006 more than 7.3 million Americans had become entangled in the criminal justice system. The American prison population had by that year increased more rapidly than had the resident population as a whole, and one in every thirty-one U.S. residents was under some form of correctional supervision, such as in prison or jail, or on probation or parole. As importantly, the incarcerated and supervised population of the United States was, overwhelmingly, a population of color. African American men experienced the highest imprisonment rate of all racial groups, male or female. It was 6.5 times the rate of white males and 2.5 times that of Hispanic males. By the middle of 2006 one in fifteen black men over the age of eighteen were behind bars as were one in nine black men aged twenty to thirty-four. The imprisonment rate of African American women looked little better. It was almost double that of Hispanic women and three times the rate of white women.1 Despite the fact that ten times more Americans were imprisoned in the last decade of the twentieth century than were killed during the Vietnam War (591,298 versus 58,228), and even though a greater number of African Americans had ended up in penal institutions than in institutions of higher learning by the new millennium (188,500 more), historians have largely ignored the mass incarceration of the late twentieth century and have not yet begun to sort out its impact on the social, economic, and political evolution of the postwar period. That one can learn a great deal about a historical moment by more
Effect of aluminum on growth and mineral elements of al-tolerant and Al-intolerant corn

Growth and P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Fe, and Cu concentrations and contents were determined in Al-tolerant and Al-intolerant corn (Zea mays L.) inbreds when grown at various levels of Al. B57 was more tolerant to Al than was Oh40B. Relatively low Al levels (up to 5 mg/l) enhanced B57 growth but inhibited Oh40B growth. With few exceptions, Oh40B root and leaf concentrations of the elements decreased with added Al. The decreases in element concentrations were not as large for B57 as they were for Oh40B. The Mg concentrations and contents decreased more than the other elements in all inbreds with added Al. Root Mg decreased more than leaf Mg. Total uptake of some elements were higher at low Al than with no Al. Inasmuch as Mg has a pronounced effect on root growth, low Mg may be an important response in plants sensitive to Al.
Synthesis and reactivity of compounds of formula W(S)(OR)4

Abstract In ethereal solutions, WSCl4 and 4 equiv LiOR (R = But or Pri) react to form compounds of formula W(S)(OR)4. A single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of W(S)(O-But)4 showed it to have a square-based pyramidal geometry with an apical sulfide ligand. Pertinent bond distances (A) and angles (°) are: WS = 2.1396(13), WO(av.) = 1.886(3), SWO(av.) = 105.09(10), WOC(av.) = 143.47(27). The tert-butoxide compound is stable toward sulfur atom abstraction by phosphines, and neither compound has shown any tendency to undergo comproportionations with W2(OR)6 (R = Pri or CH2But) species to form compounds of formula W3(μ3-S)(OR)10, in direct contrast to analogous molybdenum and tungsten oxo alkoxides.
NLM Workshop Marks 20 Years of Community Outreach and Capacity Building in HIV/AIDS

The National Library of Medicine's (NLM) AIDS Community Information Outreach Program (ACIOP) was launched in 1994 to provide the HIV/AIDS affected community with access to vital health information resources increasingly becoming available on the Internet. Three hundred awards have been made mostly to community-based organizations. An evaluation in 2012 found that most program objectives are being met; a principal recommendation going forward was that NLM seek to enhance the capacity of community-based awardees to conduct evaluations of their own projects. This article reports on a workshop whose invitees were drawn from AIDS serving organizations, along with scientists, clinicians, and information technologists, to review the evaluation findings and recommendations. They considered alternatives for improving awardees’ evaluation capabilities with the help of expert consultation, identified additional steps that could be taken to make individual project results more transparent and sharable, and looked at ...
Phylogeny of hammerhead sharks (Family Sphyrnidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear genes

Abstract Hammerhead sharks (Family Sphyrnidae) get their name from their laterally expanded, dorsal–ventrally compressed head, a structure referred to as the cephalofoil. Species within the family vary for head size and shape and for body size in ways that are functionally significant. Here we infer the phylogeny for all species within the family based on analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear genes amounting to 6292 base pairs. Mixed model Bayesian analysis of the concatenated data and Bayesian estimation of the species tree (BEST) converged on the same topology of the relationships. Shimodaira–Hasegawa tests revealed that all previously proposed hypotheses could be refuted by the data. The new hypothesis for the group suggests that the ancestor of all extant sharks was large (>200 cms) and that small body size probably evolved twice at different times and places. Moreover, the results suggest that once the cephalofoil evolved, it underwent divergent evolution in different lineages presumably in response to unique selective regimes.
Post-buckling Analysis of Multiply Delaminated Composite Plates

This paper presents an elastic post-buckling analysis of an axially loaded beam-plate with two central across-the-width delaminations located at arbitrary depths. The analysis is based on the nonlinear beam equations, combined with the appropriate kinematic continuity and equilibrium conditions. A perturbation technique is employed, which transforms the nonlinear equations into a sequence of linear equations. An asymptotic solution of the post-buckling behavior of the plate is thus obtained. It is shown that with two delaminations, both the maximum deflection and the internal load of the first buckled (top) subplate increase as the external load increases. Of particular interest is the redistribution of load among subplates, which keeps the increase rate of internal load of the top buckled subplate much less than that of the external load. In other words, the load of the buckled subplate is close to the critical value even though the externally applied load is much larger than the critical load. In addition to the two-delamination configuration, a single delamination case is studied based on the present approach in order to verify the accuracy of the method. Also, a comparison with available finite element results is performed.
Simultaneous Optimization via Approximate Majorization for Concave Profits or Convex Costs

For multicriteria problems and problems with a poorly characterized objective, it is often desirable to approximate simultaneously the optimum solution for a large class of objective functions. We consider two such classes: (1) Maximizing all symmetric concave functions. (2) Minimizing all symmetric convex functions. The first class corresponds to maximizing profit for a resource allocation problem (such as allocation of bandwidths in a computer network). The concavity requirement corresponds to the law of diminishing returns in economics. The second class corresponds to minimizing cost or congestion in a load balancing problem, where the congestion/cost is some convex function of the loads. Informally, a simultaneous α-approximation for either class is a feasible solution that is within a factor α of the optimum for all functions in that class. Clearly, the structure of the feasible set has a significant impact on the best possible α and the computational complexity of finding a solution that achieves (or nearly achieves) this α. We develop a framework and a set of techniques to perform simultaneous optimization for a wide variety of problems. We first relate simultaneous α-approximation for both classes to α-approximate majorization. Then we prove that α-approximately majorized solutions exist for logarithmic values of α for the concave profits case. For both classes, we present a polynomial-time algorithm to find the best α if the set of constraints is a polynomial-sized linear program and discuss several non-trivial applications. These applications include finding a (log n)-majorized solution for multicommodity flow, and finding approximately best α for various forms of load balancing problems. Our techniques can also be applied to produce approximately fair versions of the facility location and bi-criteria network design problems. In addition, we demonstrate interesting connections between distributional load balancing (where the sizes of jobs are drawn from known probability distributions but the actual size is not known at the time of placement) and approximate majorization.
Identification and characterization of a novel fibronectin in zebrafish.

Sequence analysis of zebrafish fibronectin (FN) cDNAs indicates that at least two forms of the protein exist in fish. One form (FN1) is very similar to FNs identified in other vertebrates possessing 12 type I, 2 type II, and 17 type III repeats including two alternative splice sites (EIIIA and EIIIB) and a variable region (V). Zebrafish FN1 contains the RGD cell adhesion site in type III(10) and a second cell-binding site (LDV) in the V region. In addition to this conserved form of FN, a novel truncated form of zebrafish FN (FN2) was identified. The predicted structure of FN2 is identical to FN1 at the N-terminal region possessing 9 type I, 2 type II, and the first 3 type III repeats. Following III(3), FN2 contains a unique 20-amino-acid C-terminal tail that is different from the C-terminus of FN1, lacking the two cysteines that are usually involved in the formation of interchain disulfide bonds. Genomic sequence analysis has revealed that FN2 is generated by an alternative RNA splicing pattern that has not been described for FN in other organisms. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis and RNase protection assays reveal that FN2 mRNA is present in the zebrafish embryo throughout development as well as in cultures of an established liver cell line. Experiments conducted with recombinant FN2 synthesized in insect cells demonstrate that the protein promotes the attachment and spreading of fish embryo cells in culture.
A look at US–Brazil ethanol trade and policy

Brazil and the USA are experiencing an “ethanol investment boom”. Agriculture in both countries is being reorganized to boost biomass production, but duties and tariffs may fi nally dictate the way the nations adjust to increasing demand, says Paul W. Gallagher. © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
“Boys Can Be Anything”: Effect of Barbie Play on Girls’ Career Cognitions

Play with Barbie dolls is an understudied source of gendered socialization that may convey a sexualized adult world to young girls. Early exposure to sexualized images may have unintended consequences in the form of perceived limitations on future selves. We investigated perceptions of careers girls felt they could do in the future as compared to the number of careers they felt boys could do as a function of condition (playing with a Barbie or Mrs. Potato Head doll) and type of career (male dominated or female dominated) in a sample of 37 U.S. girls aged 4–7 years old residing in the Pacific Northwest. After a randomly assigned 5-min exposure to condition, children were asked how many of ten different occupations they themselves could do in the future and how many of those occupations a boy could do. Data were analyzed with a 2 × 2 × 2 mixed factorial ANOVA. Averaged across condition, girls reported that boys could do significantly more occupations than they could themselves, especially when considering male-dominated careers. In addition, girls’ ideas about careers for themselves compared to careers for boys interacted with condition, such that girls who played with Barbie indicated that they had fewer future career options than boys, whereas girls who played with Mrs. Potato Head reported a smaller difference between future possible careers for themselves as compared to boys. Results support predictions from gender socialization and objectification theories.
Exchange reactions of the dimethyl ether-TiF4 complex

Abstract Exchange between apical and equatorial fluorines and exchange between free and complexed dimethyl ether have been measured by magnetic resonance for the system TiF4 dimethyl ether in sulfur dioxide as solvent. Fluorine exchange was found to be an intramolecular process with Ea = 9·5 ± 0·4 kcal/mole. Exchange of complexed ether proceeded by displacement by free ether with Ea = 12·9 ± 0·2 kcal/mole.
Policy and volatility of asset returns

Abstract During the last 10 years, a number of papers documented the time-varying conditional volatility of asset returns. Although these papers contribute significantly to our understanding of the nature of volatility, they do not typically provide an economic explanation of volatility. One possibly important variable that is correlated with volatility is policy. This paper examines the connection between volatility and policy in the context of two very closely watched actions of the Federal Reserve: open market operations in the domestic market, and sterilized intervention in the foreign exchange market. The results of the paper suggest that policy responds to volatility in the exchange rates and also to volatility in short-term interest rates. Additionally, there is some evidence indicating that policy reduces volatility in asset returns.
On-chip CO2 control for microfluidic cell culture

Carbon dioxide partial pressure (P(CO(2))) was controlled on-chip by flowing pre-equilibrated aqueous solutions through control channels across the device. Elevated P(CO(2)) (e.g. 0.05 atm) was modulated in neighboring stagnant channels via equilibration through the highly gas permeable substrate, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Stable gradients in P(CO(2)) were demonstrated with a pair of control lines in a source-sink configuration. P(CO(2)) equilibration was found to be sufficiently rapid (minutes) and stable (days) to enable long-term microfluidic culture of mammalian cells. The aqueous solutions flowing through the device also mitigated pervaporative losses at sustained elevated temperatures (e.g. 37 C), as compared to flowing humidified gas through the control lines to control P(CO(2)). Since pervaporation (and the associated increase in osmolality) was minimized, stopped-flow cell culture became possible, wherein cell secretions can accumulate within the confined environment of the microfluidic culture system. This strategy was utilized to demonstrate long-term (> 7 days) microfluidic culture of mouse fibroblasts under stopped-flow conditions without requiring the microfluidic system to be placed inside a cell culture incubator.
Attenuation of host NO production by MAMPs potentiates development of the host in the squid–vibrio symbiosis

Bacterial pathogens typically upregulate the host's production of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and nitric oxide (NO) as antimicrobial agents, a response that is often mediated by microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) of the pathogen. In contrast, previous studies of the beneficial Euprymna scolopes/Vibrio fischeri symbiosis demonstrated that symbiont colonization results in attenuation of host NOS/NO, which occurs in high levels in hatchling light organs. Here, we sought to determine whether V. fischeri MAMPs, specifically lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the peptidoglycan derivative tracheal cytotoxin (TCT), attenuate NOS/NO, and whether this activity mediates the MAMPs-induced light organ morphogenesis. Using confocal microscopy, we characterized levels of NOS with immunocytochemistry and NO with a NO-specific fluorochrome. When added exogenously to seawater containing hatchling animals, V. fischeri LPS and TCT together, but not individually, induced normal NOS/NO attenuation. Further, V. fischeri mutants defective in TCT release did not. Experiments with NOS inhibitors and NO donors provided evidence that NO mediates apoptosis and morphogenesis associated with symbiont colonization. Attenuation of NOS/NO by LPS and TCT in the squid-vibrio symbiosis provides another example of how the host's response to MAMPs depends on the context. These data also provide a mechanism by which symbiont MAMPs regulate host development.
Evaluating levels of automation in cooperative supervisory control: the mediator-associate experiment

The ISAM architecture provides an intelligent infrastructure for supporting cooperative work in real-time operations. ISAM represents activity, system, artifact, and information objects and utilizes a blackboard architecture to articulate current activity requirements in the context of current system state. It also supports two human operators performing cooperative supervisory control. This paper reports the results of an experimental evaluation of two versions of ISAM: ISAM as "mediator" in which a shared visualization of the blackboard is available to both operators, and ISAM as "associate" in which the ability for either operator to dynamically delegate activities to ISAM is supported. The experiment compares team performance in these conditions with respect to system performance measures (e.g., reaction time, errors) and coordination strategies (via detailed analyses of activity and verbalizations).
A framework for unsupervised natural language morphology induction

This paper presents a framework for unsupervised natural language morphology induction wherein candidate suffixes are grouped into candidate inflection classes, which are then arranged in a lattice structure. With similar candidate inflection classes placed near one another in the lattice, I propose this structure is an ideal search space in which to isolate the true inflection classes of a language. This paper discusses and motivates possible search strategies over the inflection class lattice structure.
Keyword-conditioned phone N-gram modeling with contextual information for speaker verification

In this paper we present our current work on automatic speaker recognition using keyword-conditioned phone N-gram modeling. We propose the use of contextual information around keywords in modeling a speaker's pronunciation characteristics at a phonetic level. Our approach is to add time margins around keywords when aligning keyword regions with keyword-specific phone events for feature vector generation. Including such additional information by incorporating time margins can capture idiosyncratic pronunciation information and is shown to help our keyword-conditioned phonetic speaker verification system achieve more than 50% (relative) performance improvement. This leads our high-level speaker verification system (i.e., fusion of non-conditioned and keyword-conditioned phonetic speaker verification systems) to currently achieve the best published result for the English 8-conversation enrollment telephony task of the 2008 NIST Speaker Recognition Evaluation for systems utilizing features not based directly on low-level acoustic information.
Cell cycle-dependent regulation of the phosphorylation and metabolism of the Alzheimer amyloid precursor protein.

Abstract Accumulation of the amyloid A beta peptide, which is derived from a larger precursor protein (APP), and the formation of plaques, are major events believed to be involved in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. Abnormal regulation of the metabolism of APP may contribute to the deposition of plaques. APP is an integral membrane protein containing several putative phosphorylation sites within its cytoplasmic domain. We report here that APP is phosphorylated at Thr668 by p34cdc2 protein kinase (cdc2 kinase) in vitro, and in a cell cycle-dependent manner in vivo. At the G2/M phase of the cell cycle, when APP phosphorylation is maximal, the levels of mature APP (mAPP) and immature APP (imAPP) do not change significantly. However, imAPP is altered qualitatively. Furthermore, the level of the secreted extracellular N-terminal domain (APPS) is decreased and that of the truncated intracellular C-terminal fragment (APPCOOH) is increased. These findings suggest the possibility that phosphorylation-dependent events occurring during the cell cycle affect the metabolism of APP. Alterations in these events might play a role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
Chromosome condensation factor Brn1p is required for chromatid separation in mitosis

This work describes BRN1, the budding yeast homologue of Drosophila Barren and Xenopus condensin subunit XCAP-H. The Drosophila protein is required for proper chromosome segregation in mitosis, and Xenopus protein functions in mitotic chromosome condensation. Mutant brn1 cells show a defect in mitotic chromosome condensation and sister chromatid separation and segregation in anaphase. Chromatid cohesion before anaphase is properly maintained in the mutants. Some brn1 mutant cells apparently arrest in S-phase, pointing to a possible function for Brn1p at this stage of the cell cycle. Brn1p is a nuclear protein with a nonuniform distribution pattern, and its level is up-regulated at mitosis. Temperature-sensitive mutations of BRN1 can be suppressed by overexpression of a novel gene YCG1, which is homologous to another Xenopus condensin subunit, XCAP-G. Overexpression of SMC2, a gene necessary for chromosome condensation, and a homologue of the XCAP-E condensin, does not suppress brn1, pointing to functional specialization of components of the condensin complex.
A FOCUS GROUP ASSESSMENT TO DETERMINE MOTIVATIONS, BARRIERS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A UNIVERSITY-BASED WORKSITE WELLNESS PROGRAM

Background: This study explores university employee perceptions and under-standing about its Worksite Health Promotion Program (WHPP). The WHPP included a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA), biometric screening, publicity for on-campus health programs and facilities, and health coaching.Methods: A qualitative design was used based on a grounded theory approach. Four 90 minutes focus groups with 6-8 participants in each were conducted within a two 2 week period among employees, representing faculty/participants, faculty/nonparticipants, staff/participants, and staff/nonparticipants. Responses to questions about motivations, barriers, and perceived health benefits that impacted participation in the WHPP were digitally recorded, transcribed and coded for themes. Results: Incentives effectively motivated participation. Biometric screening had the largest impact on behavior change, followed by the information learned from the HRA. However, despite two-thirds of the employees participating in the program, lack of a full understanding of WHPP benefits and services lowered participation in follow-up services and supplemental programs.Conclusions: Biometric screening and HRAs effectively motivate program par-ticipation. Communication of benefits and services are important when providing WHPPs.
Stabilizing and deblurring atmospheric turbulence

A new approach is proposed to correct geometric distortion and reduce space and time-variant blur in videos that suffer from atmospheric turbulence. We first register the frames to suppress geometric deformation using a B-spline based non-rigid registration method. Next, a fusion process is carried out to produce an image from the registered frames, which can be viewed as being convolved with a space invariant near-diffraction-limited blur. Finally, a blind deconvolution algorithm is implemented to deblur the fused image. Experiments using real data illustrate that this approach is capable of alleviating blur and geometric deformation caused by turbulence, recovering details of the scene and significantly improving visual quality.
Enhanced Stability of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine Encapsulated in Dissolving Microneedle Patches.

Purpose This study tested the hypothesis that encapsulation of influenza vaccine in microneedle patches increases vaccine stability during storage at elevated temperature.
Proactive Wound Care

In June, 2003, a paper by Sheehan et al. (Diabetes Care 26:1879–82, 2003) caused many physicians to think about the need for proactive wound care. In this paper, the authors demonstrated a pattern of healing in diabetic foot ulcers in which wounds that did not show a significant decrease in size within 4 weeks of standard treatment, had less than a 10% chance of being closed by week 12. As a result, a benchmark was established, whereby one could say with reasonable certainty that in the absence of at least 50% closure after 4 weeks of standard care, a new approach was needed. When wounds fail to close from initial treatments, it is prudent to reassess the wound environment, the condition of the patient, adjust the treatment, and take proactive steps to enhance and stimulate the healing process.
Bolus/infusion studies for PET [18F]FPEB studies of cerebral mGluR5 receptors

318 Objectives A recent bolus/infusion (BI) study of [18F]FPEB using a Kbol of 190 minutes reported good stability of uptake for most regions with higher receptor levels, but marginal stability of uptake and underestimated receptor levels in the hippocampus while overestimating levels in moderate and lower uptake regions (Sullivan, 2013) . The purpose of this study was to examine whether an optimized BI schedule could be defined. Methods Simulations of BI schedules were performed based on previously published modeling studies following bolus administration of [18F]FPEB (Wong, 2013). Based on these simulations, B/I studies were performed in six healthy subjects (4 M, 2F, mean age of 20.2 years). A mean dose of 4.4 mCi [18F]FPEB was administered using a Kbol of 205 minutes and 180 min infusion time. Data from one subject could not be used due to extreme motion. Results Simulations showed that Kbol9s of 200 to 220 produced good stability of uptake in regions with higher receptor levels including the hippocampus while a Kbol of 190 minutes produced somewhat better stability in regions with lower uptake after 130 minutes. For human BI studies a Kbol of 205 produced good stability of total uptake (1.6-5.1%,mean=2.8%) at 90 to 130 min in higher uptake regions, anterior hippocampus, caudate, putamen, ventral striatum, anterior cingulate, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, insula. Moderate uptake was seen in the thalamus which had marginal stability (10%/hr). Adequate stability of uptake ( Conclusions A Kbol of 205 with an infusion time of 130 min allows attainment of stable uptake in high uptake regions including the hippocampus but only marginal stability of uptake in thalamus. Research Support This study supported by NIDA grant 1R21DA031441.
Metabolic Benefit of Chronic Caloric Restriction and Activation of Hypothalamic AGRP/NPY Neurons in Male Mice Is Independent of Ghrelin

Aging is associated with attenuated ghrelin signaling. During aging, chronic caloric restriction (CR) produces health benefits accompanied by enhanced ghrelin production. Ghrelin receptor (GH secretagogue receptor 1a) agonists administered to aging rodents and humans restore the young adult phenotype; therefore, we tested the hypothesis that the metabolic benefits of CR are mediated by endogenous ghrelin. Three month-old male mice lacking ghrelin (Ghrelin-/-) or ghrelin receptor (Ghsr-/-), and their wild-type (WT) littermates were randomly assigned to 2 groups: ad libitum (AL) fed and CR, where 40% food restriction was introduced gradually to allow Ghrelin-/- and Ghsr-/- mice to metabolically adapt and avoid severe hypoglycemia. Twelve months later, plasma ghrelin, metabolic parameters, ambulatory activity, hypothalamic and liver gene expression, as well as body composition were measured. CR increased plasma ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin concentrations in WT and Ghsr-/- mice. CR of WT, Ghsr-/-, and Ghrelin-/- mice markedly improved metabolic flexibility, enhanced ambulatory activity, and reduced adiposity. Inactivation of Ghrelin or Ghsr had no effect on AL food intake or food anticipatory behavior. In contrast to the widely held belief that endogenous ghrelin regulates food intake, CR increased expression of hypothalamic Agrp and Npy, with reduced expression of Pomc across genotypes. In the AL context, ablation of ghrelin signaling markedly inhibited liver steatosis, which correlated with reduced Pparγ expression and enhanced Irs2 expression. Although CR and administration of GH secretagogue receptor 1a agonists both benefit the aging phenotype, we conclude the benefits of chronic CR are a consequence of enhanced metabolic flexibility independent of endogenous ghrelin or des-acyl ghrelin signaling.
Demonstration of IgE on Human-skin Mast Cells Using Anti-IgE125I and Refined Light Microscopy

The human-tissue mast cell playsan important role in protective reactions to locally-induced antigens. It has been shown that the release of histamine from these cells can be initiated by cationic-anionic exchange and formation of acid-base complexes using bee venom. Since Ishizaka demonstrated that the first cousins to mast cells, the basophils of the blood, can be triggered to release their histamine by a second mechanism involving the union of specific antigen or anti-IgE with IgE coating the basophil, it is reasonable to expect that mast cells are also coated with IgE. The authors have used the sensitive technic of radioautography with specific antihuman IgE125I, combined with refined light microscopy as described by Dvorak, and have successfully directly demonstrated IgE on skin mast cells, and the release of granules and histamine from these cells triggered by specific antigen.
Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and Acute Ataxia

A 3-year-old boy who presented with an acute cerebellar ataxia and x-ray evidence of apparent chest infection, caused by massive infiltration of Langerhans histiocytes, is reported from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Catania, Italy, Northampton General Hospital, and John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
Advance in Structure and Function of Fragile X-related 1 Protein Research

Fragile X-related 1 Protein(FXR1P) is one member of fragile X protein family.FXR1P has high amino acid sequence identity to FMRP(60%).l FXR1P contains two KH domains、an RGG box 、arginine rich motif、 nuclear localization(NLS) 、 nuclear export(NES) and NoS,FXR1P bind target mRNAs to regulate their translation.Also FXR1P can utilize the miRNA pathway to regulate target mRNA expression.This article mainly reviewed the mlecular structure and the function of FXR1P.
Much ado about grit: A meta-analytic synthesis of the grit literature.

Grit has been presented as a higher order personality trait that is highly predictive of both success and performance and distinct from other traits such as conscientiousness. This paper provides a meta-analytic review of the grit literature with a particular focus on the structure of grit and the relation between grit and performance, retention, conscientiousness, cognitive ability, and demographic variables. Our results based on 584 effect sizes from 88 independent samples representing 66,807 individuals indicate that the higher order structure of grit is not confirmed, that grit is only moderately correlated with performance and retention, and that grit is very strongly correlated with conscientiousness. We also find that the perseverance of effort facet has significantly stronger criterion validities than the consistency of interest facet and that perseverance of effort explains variance in academic performance even after controlling for conscientiousness. In aggregate our results suggest that interventions designed to enhance grit may only have weak effects on performance and success, that the construct validity of grit is in question, and that the primary utility of the grit construct may lie in the perseverance facet. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)
Cultural heritage as civilising mission: from decay to recovery

This book reflects the proceedings of the second international workshop on cultural heritage and the temples of Angkor held at Heidelberg University in 2011. While Cambodia provides the focus of si...
Soviet Retailing and Consumer Culture in Comparative Perspective

It is tempting to view the Stalinist regime’s new approach to retailing and consumption in the 1930s as a uniquely Soviet story, a product of totalitarian aspirations to establish party-state control of the economy, the general populace, public organizations, and other aspects of life. At first glance, the Soviet government’s intervention in the retail sector and its mobilization of consumers appear to support this narrative. After all, the historical development of modern retailing and consumer cultures is typically associated not with socialism and the state but with capitalism and the bourgeoisie. But if one accepts the arguments presented in recent scholarship about the importance of government involvement in the development of retail sectors and consumer cultures, then the Soviet approach to retailing and consumption can be understood as part of a broader historical story about how advanced industrial societies and states have responded to the challenges of mass distribution and consumption. Indeed, the Soviet approach can be understood as part of what Victoria de Grazia has pointed to as the “diversity of trajectories” to consumer modernity.1
Commercial Kitchen and Dining Facilities

Design and operating commercial kitchens and associated dining areas are another one of the high energy consuming HVAC applications. Energy intensity (energy consumption per square foot) of kitchens arguably is one of the highest levels among other commercial applications specifically due to the relative small footprint of the commercial kitchens while the level of heat generation from cooking operation is extremely high. Based on a report published by US department of energy in 2006 food service facilities in the USA have an average energy intensity of 258,000 Btu/sq ft.
A modified embedded atom method potential for interstitial oxygen in titanium

Abstract Modeling oxygen interstitials in titanium requires a new empirical potential. We optimize potential parameters using a fitting database of first-principle oxygen interstitial energies and forces. A new database optimization algorithm based on Bayesian sampling is applied to obtain an optimal potential for a specific testing set of density functional data. A parallel genetic algorithm minimizes the sum of logistic function evaluations of the testing set predictions. We test the transferability of the potential model against oxygen interstitials in HCP titanium, transition barriers between oxygen interstitial sites, and oxygen in the titanium prismatic stacking fault. The potential predicts that the interaction between oxygen and a screw dislocation core is weak and short-ranged.
Underwater wireless power transfer for ocean system applications

The field of wireless power transfer (WPT) has been revitalized since the development of resonant induction technique. Recent research has covered new areas for WPT system in air. However, for WPT in the ocean environment, it is still very much in the research portion of its development. The stochastic nature of the ocean makes transferring power wirelessly very difficult to achieve. This paper investigates and overcomes some of the difficulties that wireless power transfer faces in a salt water environment. The results show that proper coil winding and the addition of resonator circuits increase transmission efficiency. Since the properties of the coils contribute to the efficiency of the WPT system, a detailed study of the system is analyzed to determine the self-inductance, capacitance, parasitic resistance, and the best coil shape.