cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
3P or 4P: new issues in future packet switching networks

The latest evolution of packet switching networks is represented by the DiffServ and MPLS architectures, where much attention has been paid to the issue on traffic stream priorities. This article addresses some subsequent issues. First, it seems reasonable for routers to include the preemption policy into packet scheduling. Secondly, the parallel forwarding may find its indispensable place. Thirdly, the path-node incidence is perhaps more appropriate for network modeling than the link-node incidence. Finally, it appears that nonlinear models incorporating load-dependent parameters would play a role in future IP networks. In summary, the 3P or 4P features -- Priority, Preemption, and Parallelism plus Path-node incidence may bring significant changes into the nowadays packet switching networks.
Hypo-osmotic Re-absorption due to Active Salt Transport in Perfused Collecting Ducts of the Rat Renal Medulla

URINE reaches its maximal osmolality in the collecting ducts of the renal medulla1, but the mechanisms causing the transformation from isotonic tubular fluid are in dispute. Most modern attempts to explain the concentrating mechanism are based on the hypothesis of Wirz, Hargitay and Kuhn2, that the loops of Henle function as countercurrent multipliers to raise the medullary interstitial osmolality so that water can be extracted from the collecting duct urine by simple osmosis. Experimental evidence3,4 supports the validity of this hypothesis only in the outer medulla; the major increase of osmolality occurs in the inner medulla where the loops of Henle are not capable of active salt transport5 and so cannot be countercurrent multipliers. In this communication I shall propose an alternative hypothesis for the inner medulla and present the results of experimental tests of its more unusual features.
Transductional Efficacy and Safety of an Intraperitoneally Delivered Adenovirus Encoding an Anti-erbB-2 Intracellular Single-Chain Antibody for Ovarian Cancer Gene Therapy

Abstract We have previously shown that adenoviral-mediated delivery of an anti-erbB-2 intracellular single-chain antibody (sFv) causes specific cytotoxicy in erbB-2-overexpressing ovarian carcinoma cells. Furthermore, intraperitoneal delivery of the anti-erbB-2 sFv enhances survival and reduces tumor burden in a xenograft model of human ovarian carcinoma in SCID mice. These findings have led to an RAC-approved Phase I clinical trial for patients with ovarian cancer. In this report, we show that expression of the anti-erbB-2 sFv could be readily detected in target tumor cells by in situ hybridization methodology. PCR analysis of DNA extracted from various murine tissues demonstrated that the anti-erbB-2 sFv remained localized to the peritoneum. Delivery of the sFv to the non-erbB-2-overexpressing REN mesothelial and Hep G2 hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines was not deleterious to either one, affirming the tumor specificity of this gene therapy strategy. In addition, histopathological analysis of various tissues showed that adenoviral-mediated delivery of the anti-erbB-2 sFv to immunocompetent mice with either primary exposure or previous vector challenge at different doses produced no abnormal changes when compared to untreated animals. These findings suggest that adenoviral-mediated delivery of the anti-erbB-2 sFv in a human context can be effectively assayed, is potentially free of vector-associated toxicity, and retains biologic utility based on tumor specificity.
Hemoglobin H disease and multiple congenital anomalies in a child of Northern European origin

Hemoglobin H (HbH) disease was recently described in three unrelated northern European boys with mental retardation. We have studied a somewhat similar patient, in whom HbH disease was associated with multiple congenital anomalies. Restriction endonuclease analysis of DNA from this proband yielded a pattern consistent with the alpha-/-- genotype commonly associated with the HbH phenotype in Asians. His parents both carry alpha thalassemia, in contrast to the previously described families in which only one of the two parents was a carrier.
Nonoperative management of renal artery embolus

Two cases of renal artery emboli were treated nonsurgically with intravenous heparin. Both patients experienced prompt and total relief of the apparent embolization.
Semirigid Construction of Topological Supergravities

We show how to construct topological N = 1 and 2 supergravity theories from appropriately constrained N = 3 and 4 ghost plus matter systems. In particular N = 4 susy is not needed to obtain the N = 1 topological theory. We give a description of the relevant supermoduli spaces which must be integrated to obtain the amplitudes of these theories, as well as explicit formulas for the ingredients entering the integrands, in particular the various supercurrents with their inhomogeneous terms.
The thermal rearrangement of 6-methyl-6-vinylbicyclo[3.2.0]heptane

Abstract Gas-phase pyrolysis of the endo -vinyl epimer (1 A ) of the title compound at 275°C affords predominantly 3-(2-methyl-2-butenyl)cyclopentene (presumably the Z isomer), a direct [1,5]-hydrogen shift product, whereas the exo -vinyl epimer (1 B ) favors the fragmentation products, cyclopentene and isoprene.
Quality of published case reports on adverse drug reactions in children

In 2007, the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE) and the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) released guidelines for publishing case reports on adverse drug reactions (ADRs). These guidelines describe what authors should consider when constructing an ADR case report for publication in terms of key information about the affected patient, administered drugs, reported reaction, causality assessment and implications for clinical practice.1 In this study, we assessed the adherence to ISPE/ISoP guidelines for ADR case reports of paediatric patients published from January 2008 to December 2010 and entered in Pfizer's safety database. We also developed a case report quality score by assigning a value …
Modulation of the β-Catenin Signaling Pathway by the Dishevelled-Associated Protein Hipk1

Author(s): Louie, Sarah H; Yang, Xiao Yong; Conrad, William H; Muster, Jeanot; Angers, Stephane; Moon, Randall T; Cheyette, Benjamin NR | Abstract: BackgroundWnts are evolutionarily conserved ligands that signal through beta-catenin-dependent and beta-catenin-independent pathways to regulate cell fate, proliferation, polarity, and movements during vertebrate development. Dishevelled (Dsh/Dvl) is a multi-domain scaffold protein required for virtually all known Wnt signaling activities, raising interest in the identification and functions of Dsh-associated proteins.MethodologyWe conducted a yeast-2-hybrid screen using an N-terminal fragment of Dsh, resulting in isolation of the Xenopus laevis ortholog of Hipk1. Interaction between the Dsh and Hipk1 proteins was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation assays and mass spectrometry, and further experiments suggest that Hipk1 also complexes with the transcription factor Tcf3. Supporting a nuclear function during X. laevis development, Myc-tagged Hipk1 localizes primarily to the nucleus in animal cap explants, and the endogenous transcript is strongly expressed during gastrula and neurula stages. Experimental manipulations of Hipk1 levels indicate that Hipk1 can repress Wnt/beta-catenin target gene activation, as demonstrated by beta-catenin reporter assays in human embryonic kidney cells and by indicators of dorsal specification in X. laevis embryos at the late blastula stage. In addition, a subset of Wnt-responsive genes subsequently requires Hipk1 for activation in the involuting mesoderm during gastrulation. Moreover, either over-expression or knock-down of Hipk1 leads to perturbed convergent extension cell movements involved in both gastrulation and neural tube closure.ConclusionsThese results suggest that Hipk1 contributes in a complex fashion to Dsh-dependent signaling activities during early vertebrate development. This includes regulating the transcription of Wnt/beta-catenin target genes in the nucleus, possibly in both repressive and activating ways under changing developmental contexts. This regulation is required to modulate gene expression and cell movements that are essential for gastrulation.
Spatial strategies of oriented travel inCallicebus moloch andSaimiri sciureus

The behavior of 9 titi monkeys (Callicebus moloch) and 12 squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) was examined with respect to three categorical strategies of spatial orientation: direction, turn, and place strategies. Individual animals were initially trained to travel to a fixed location from a constant release point. Following the initial training, each animal was tested by releasing it a number of times from three other release points and analyzing its travel paths. During testing, most individual subjects tended to be highly consistent in their spatial behavior, typically following travel paths consistent with one of the three spatial strategies. No one spatial strategy, however, characterized the behavior of either species.
Comparative Humilities: Christian, Contemporary, and Confucian Conceptions of a Political Virtue

This essay examines contemporary Western thinking on humility. Compared to other virtues, little has been written about humility in the past century. This has led scholars to dub it a forgotten virtue. Recently, a renewed interest in humility can be found among scholars working in various academic disciplines. These scholars disagree, however, about the meaning and implications of humility for contemporary life. I seek to intervene in this disagreement through a comparative approach and bring the ancient Eastern tradition of Confucianism to bear on the current Western resurgence of interest in humility as a civic value. I argue that humility is a crucial political virtue that fortifies us and helps us resist disillusionment. Humility, therefore, should neither be reduced to a vestige of traditional Christianity nor viewed as a watered down notion of modesty.
High-resolution optical observations of Ca II K in Deneb and Aldebaran.

High-spectral-resolution echellograms confirm the existence of an asymmetric emission core in the K line of Deneb that may be due to chromospheric emission from this A-type supergiant or that may be due to scattering from a circumstellar shell. If the core is due to chromospheric emission, its width does not agree with what is predicted using the Wilson-Bappu relation for late-type stars. This would indicate that the chromospheres of hotter stars are qualitatively different from those of cooler stars. A K-emission-core profile for Aldebaran is also presented.
Sequestering uranium from seawater: binding strength and modes of uranyl complexes with glutarimidedioxime

Glutarimidedioxime (H2A), a cyclic imide dioxime ligand that has implications in sequestering uranium from seawater, forms strong tridentate complexes with UO22+. The stability constants and the enthalpies of complexation for five U(VI) complexes were measured by potentiometry and microcalorimetry. The crystal structure of the 1 : 2 metal–ligand complex, UO2(HA)2·H2O, was determined. The re-arrangement of the protons of the oxime groups (–CHN–OH) and the deprotonation of the imide group (–CH–NH–CH–) results in a conjugated system with delocalized electron density on the ligand (–O–N–C–N–C–N–O–) that coordinates to UO22+via its equatorial plane.
A microfluidic platform for high-sensitivity, real-time drug screening on C. elegans and parasitic nematodes

This paper describes a new microfluidic platform for screening drugs and their dose response on the locomotion behavior of free living nematodes and parasitic nematodes. The system offers a higher sensitivity drug screening chip which employs a combination of existing and newly developed methods. Real-time observation of the entire drug application process (i.e. the innate pre-exposure locomotion, the transient response during drug exposure and the time-resolved, post-exposure behavior) at a single worm resolution is made possible. The chip enables the monitoring of four nematode parameters (number of worms responsive, number of worms leaving the drug well, average worm velocity and time until unresponsiveness). Each parameter generates an inherently different dose response; allowing for a higher resolution when screening for resistance. We expect this worm chip could be used as a robust cross species, cross drug platform. Existing nematode motility and migration assays do not offer this level of sophistication. The device comprises two principal components: behavioral microchannels to study nematode motility and a drug well for administering the dose and observing drug effects as a function of exposure time. The drug screening experiment can be described by three main steps: (i) ‘pre-exposure study’ – worms are inserted into the behavioral channels and their locomotion is characterized, (ii) ‘dose exposure’ – worms are guided from the behavioral microchannels into the drug well and held for a predefined time, during which time their transient response to the dose is characterized and (iii) ‘post-exposure study’ – worms are guided back into the behavioral microchannels where their locomotion (i.e. their time-resolved response to the dose) is characterized and compared to pre-exposure motility. The direction of nematodes' movement is reliably controlled by the application of an electric field within a defined range. Control experiments (e.g. in the absence of any drug) confirm that the applied electric fields do not affect the worms' motility or viability. We demonstrate the workability of the microfluidic platform on free living Caenorhabditis elegans (wild-type N2 and levamisole resistant ZZ15 lev-8) and parasitic Oesophagotomum dentatum (levamisole-sensitive, SENS and levamisole-resistant, LEVR) using levamisole (a well-studied anthelmintic) as the test drug. The proposed scheme of drug screening on a microfluidic device is expected to significantly improve the resolution, sensitivity and data throughput of in vivo testing, while offering new details on the transient and time-resolved exposure effects of new and existing anthelmintics.
Pulsed laser energy through fiberoptics for generation of ultrasound

Laser pulses are an effective, noncontacting technique for generating ultrasound in materials. However, for this approach to be practical, a versatile and safe method of delivering the laser pulses must be developed that eliminates exposed beams steered by mirrors and focused by lenses. Investigations by several researchers using fiberoptic delivery systems indicate that fiberoptics may be a viable method for the delivery of laser energy to generate acoustic energy. The main problem experienced with the fiberoptic delivery systems has been the inability to deliver high-energy, short-duration pulses via a fiber for thousands of pulses with no fiber damage and with constant energy output. This paper presents a technique for laser generation of sound using fiberoptics that continuously delivers sustained 20 ns pulses at a pulsing rate of 30 Hz from a doubled, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating at 532 nm with output energy from the fiber-optic system up to 26 mJ/pulse. The delivery system is used to excite ultrasound in a molten weld pool as part of a research effort to develop a noncontacting sensing system for real-time weld inspection.
Pulmonary Hypertension Due to a Retained Totally Implantable Venous Access Device Fragment

Pulmonary hypertension can occur from obstruction of the distal pulmonary arteries by thrombus, ova and parasites, and foreign material. We report a 62-year-old patient who had fatal pulmonary hypertension from an 8-cm fragment of a totally implantable venous access device (TIVAD) retained in the pulmonary artery. Despite long-term therapeutic anticoagulation, pulmonary angiography showed chronic occlusion of the posterior branch of the superior right pulmonary artery with paucity of distal vasculature consistent with an old right upper lobe pulmonary embolus. Retrieval of the fragment was attempted via pulmonary artery catheterization techniques but was unsuccessful. In conclusion, progressive pulmonary hypertension may result from retention of a TIVAD fragment in a central pulmonary artery despite therapeutic anticoagulation. Worsening pulmonary hypertension may have been due to partial obstruction of the main pulmonary arteries, resulting in recurrent thromboembolism or in situ thrombosis, and remodeling of small distal pulmonary arteries.
The domain Green’s function method

An implementation of the domain Green’s function Monte Carlo algorithm is described. Unlike the short time approximation, the method is variational and exact within the limits of the fixed node approximation. The systems investigated include LiH, Be in the ground and first excited states, a study of the C2v insertion pathway of Be into H2, and H2O. We predict a barrier of 0.190 hartree for the insertion reaction with a statistical accuracy of ±2%. Better than 90% of the correlation energy is recovered in each case, which makes these some of the most accurate computations to date.
Probable Role of Clavaminic Acid as the Terminal Intermediate in the Common Pathway to Clavulanic Acid and the Antipodal Clavam Metabolites

Emerging chemical and genetic evidence suggests that separate biochemical solutions have evolved to synthesize the four known classes of β-lactam antibiotics. One of these classes contains clavulanic acid (1) and a family of structurally related but antipodal clavam metabolites 2−5, 7, and 8 which lack a carboxylate at C-3, have a different oxidation state, and exhibit stereochemical features at C-2. Previous work has demonstrated the incorporation of ornithine/arginine in the identical regiochemical sense in all of these natural products, and has established the common intermediacy of the monocyclic β-lactam proclavaminic acid (12) as well. In this paper the quite advanced bicyclic intermediate clavaminic acid (14) has been synthesized in doubly 13C-labeled form by preparative incubation of recombinant clavaminate synthase. The intact and equally efficient incorporation of 14 into valclavam (7) and 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)clavam (8), together with 18O2-incorporation experiments, has been interpreted to define ...
Identification of H, K, and N-ras point mutations in stage IB cervical carcinoma.

Abstract Objective: The ras oncogenes, Harvey (H), Kirsten (K), and neuroblastoma (N), are a family of genes coding for a membrane-associated protein (p21) which possesses inherent guanine triphosphatase (GTPase) activity. Point mutagenesis at codons 12, 13, and 61 has been implicated in ras activation and subsequent cellular transformation. Given the epidemiologic relationship of HPV infection with cervical carcinoma and the tumorigenic interaction of HPV and mutated ras oncogenes, this study was undertaken to identify if mutated ras oncogenes were present in early invasive cervical carcinomas. Methods: A combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and dot-blot hybridization was used to determine the frequency and types of ras point mutants occurring in cervical carcinoma. Thirty-three patients with early-stage cervical carcinoma were identified. DNA was extracted from archival tumor samples. ras genes were PCR amplified using flanking primers and hybridized with a series of labeled allele-specific oligonucleotides corresponding to wild-type forms of K 12,61 , N 12,13,61 , and H 12,61 , as well as to all combinations of substitution mutations (7 wild-type, 45 mutants). Results: ras mutations were identified in 24.2% of specimens. The detected mutations in H, K, and N- ras all occurred at codon 61. This was not the result of PCR or hybridization artifact in that mutations were detected in position 12 and 13 in appropriate control samples. Conclusions: Mutant ras has been shown to convert HPV immortalized keratinocytes to the tumorigenic state. Our results indicate that a significant percentage (24.2%) of these early-stage cervical cancers contain activated ras. Additional studies will be needed to evaluate whether codon 61 represents a characteristic "hot-spot" of ras mutation in a subset of cervical carcinoma.
Patterns of cognitive decline in aged rhesus monkeys.

It is only in the last 25 yr that significant strides have been taken toward the development of primate models of normal human aging. Together with advances in the fields of molecular biology, neuroimaging, and behavioral neuroscience, these models have emerged as potentially important components in our understanding of the age-related cognitive decline in humans (1). This is not to deny that studies using other species, particularly rodents, have provided a wealth of information on the neurobiological substrates of aging. However, the rich behavioral repertoire of the monkey, particularly its remarkable ability to perform a variety of complex short-term memory tasks, many of which have been administered to normal humans in geriatric research studies, has made this species particularly suited to assess cognitive function at a level that is not possible in nonprimates.
A different kind of forum: rethinking rhetorical strategies for electronic text media

Organizations such as universities and corporations are increasingly using electronic text media such as electronic mail and conferencing systems to communicate with associates. However, technical communicators currently have no rhetorical strategies to deal with these new and unfamiliar media; they must generate new strategies to communicate and persuade through electronic text. This paper discusses the characteristics of electronic text that call for new rhetorical strategies, examines how users function rhetorically in the new media, and outlines several strategies that technical communicators can use when communicating through electronic text. >
Response of dominant grass and shrub species to water manipulation: an ecophysiological basis for shrub invasion in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

Increases in woody vegetation and declines in grasses in arid and semi-arid ecosystems have occurred globally since the 1800s, but the mechanisms driving this major land-cover change remain uncertain and controversial. Working in a shrub-encroached grassland in the northern Chihuahuan Desert where grasses and shrubs typically differ in leaf-level nitrogen allocation, photosynthetic pathway, and root distribution, we asked if differences in leaf-level ecophysiology could help explain shrub proliferation. We predicted that the relative performance of grasses and shrubs would vary with soil moisture due to the different morphological and physiological characteristics of the two life-forms. In a 2-year experiment with ambient, reduced, and enhanced precipitation during the monsoon season, respectively, the encroaching C3 shrub (honey mesquite Prosopis glandulosa) consistently and substantially outperformed the historically dominant C4 grass (black grama Bouteloua eriopoda) in terms of photosynthetic rates while also maintaining a more favorable leaf water status. These differences persisted across a wide range of soil moisture conditions, across which mesquite photosynthesis was decoupled from leaf water status and moisture in the upper 50 cm of the soil profile. Mesquite’s ability to maintain physiologically active leaves for a greater fraction of the growing season than black grama potentially amplifies and extends the importance of physiological differences. These physiological and phenological differences may help account for grass displacement by shrubs in drylands. Furthermore, the greater sensitivity of the grass to low soil moisture suggests that grasslands may be increasingly susceptible to shrub encroachment in the face of the predicted increases in drought intensity and frequency in the desert of the southwestern USA.
Formal total synthesis of the polyketide macrolactone narbonolide.

An improved synthesis of (3S)-3-dihydronarbonolide is reported that constitutes a formal total synthesis of the 14-membered macrolactone antibiotic narbonolide. The key step was an intramolecular Nozaki−Hiyama−Kishi coupling to accomplish macrocyclization in improved yield. The high level of convergence will also allow us to rapidly synthesize narbonolide analogues for the study of enzymes in the pikromycin biosynthetic pathway.
Three cements used for orthodontic banding of porcelain molars.

Abstract Objective: Objectives of this study were to (1) compare the mean shear-peel bond strength of orthodontic bands luted to porcelain molar denture teeth with glass ionomer cement (GIC), resin...
Toxic Contamination and Communities: Using an Ecological-Symbolic Perspective to Theorize Response Contingencies

The ecological-symbolic perspective posits that community response to toxic contamination is shaped by both the nature of the environmental disruption and the interpretive frames through which thos...
10 Gb/s multiple wavelength, coherent short pulse source based on spectral carving of supercontinuum generated in fibers

We demonstrate a high-power, multi-wavelength, short pulse source at 10 Gb/s based on spectral slicing of supercontinuum (SC) generated in short fibers. We show that short fiber SC can be used for dense wavelength division multiplexing applications because of its >7.9 dBm/nm power spectral density, 140 nm spectral bandwidth, and /spl plusmn/0.5 dB spectral uniformity over 40 mn. Pulse carving up to 60 nm away from the pump wavelength and CW generation by longitudinal mode carving indicates that the coherence of the SC is maintained. By using high nonlinearity fibers, the spectral bandwidth is increased to 250 nm, which can accommodate >600 wavelength channels with 50 GHz channel spacing and >6 Tb/s aggregate data rate. We also calculate the coherence degradation due to amplification of incoherent energy during the SC generation. Theoretical results show that the SC generation in short fibers has 13 dB higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to the SC generated in long fiber.
Decoding on Graphs: LDPC-Coded MISO Systems and Belief Propagation

This paper proposes a new approach for decoding LDPC codes over MISO channels. Since in an nT times 1 MISO system with a modulation of alphabet size 2M, nT transmitted symbols are combined and produce one received symbol at the receiver, we propose considering the LDPC-coded MISO system as an LDPC code over 2MnT-ary alphabet. Consequently, we propose a modified Tanner graph to introduce belief propagation for decoding MISO-LDPC systems. As a result, the MISO symbol detection and binary LDPC decoding steps are merged into a single message passing decoding. We also propose an efficient method that significantly reduces the complexity of belief propagation decoding in MISO-LDPC systems. Furthermore, we show that our proposed decoder outperforms the conventional decoder for short length LDPC codes in unknown channel scenarios.
From Print Texts to e-Books: The Changing Nature of Literacy.

Joey, an energetic fifth-grader, does not consider himself a “good” reader. Recently, he told his teacher, Mrs. Nelson, that reading is boring and he dislikes “thick books with lots of words.” Unfo...
Probabilistic Validation of Simplified Models of Spacecraft Formations near Libration Points

This paper introduces a method to probabilistically evaluate the validity of dynamics model approximations, and applies this method to simplified models of satellite formation dynamics near the Sun-Earth/Moon L2 libration point. The method uses a Monte Carlo scheme similar to a sampling importance resampling (SIR) filter to evolve state probability densities through several satellite dynamics models of differing complexity. The evolved densities are fit with a Gaussian mixture model and compared probabilistically to evaluate the validity of the simplified dynamics models over time. With this method, analysis of a formation flying mission on a halo orbit near the Sun/Earth-Moon L2 point reveals a 2 hr window of validity in which the relative satellite dynamics are indistinguishable from a double integrator (DI) and initial relative velocities drive model uncertainty.
Nonlinear statistical precipitation retrievals using simulated passive microwave imagery

A nonlinear statistical retrieval algorithm used to estimate precipitation parameters from simulated passive microwave imagery is described. The microwave imagery is based on simulated 3-dimensional microphysical cloud data. The full resolution (1.5 km) upwelling brightness temperature maps are subsequently degraded to the resolution expected from a low-Earth orbiting satellite. The nonlinear statistical retrieval algorithm is composed of four stages: (1) a Karhunen-Loeve transform, (2) a projection operator, (3) a nonlinear inverse mapping, and (4) a linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) estimator. Retrievals of rain rate and integrated ice content at both full and degraded resolutions were performed. The results show that rain rate retrieval accuracy suffered more than integrated ice content retrieval accuracy as the resolution was degraded. This is expected because the spectral signature of ice is found primarily in the higher frequency (hence, higher resolution) channels, while the spectral signature of rain is found in lower frequency channels. >
MAP Kinase Activation by Flow in Endothelial Cells Role of β1 Integrins and Tyrosine Kinases

Local alterations in the hemodynamic environment regulate endothelial cell function, but the signal-transduction mechanisms involved in this process remain unclear. We previously demonstrated that mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase is rapidly stimulated by flow in bovine aortic endothelial cells. Integrin receptors may act as mechanotransducers, as suggested by rapid remodeling of focal adhesion complexes in response to flow. To study the role of integrins in flow-mediated MAP kinase activation, we compared the effects of β1 integrin activation (with 8A2 antibody) and flow in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Both 8A2 (3 μg/mL) and flow (shear stress, 12 dynes/cm2) stimulated MAP kinase, although the flow response was faster and greater. To characterize flow-activated tyrosine kinases, tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins were immunoprecipitated and identified by Western blot. There was a time-dependent increase in phosphotyrosine content in 60- to 80-kD, 110-kD, 125- to 150-kD, an...
Mast cell tryptase and microphthalmia transcription factor effectively discriminate cutaneous mast cell disease from myeloid leukemia cutis.

Background: Cutaneous mast cell disorders are uncommon, but a subset, especially mastocytoma and mast cell leukemia, can histologically mimic myeloid leukemia cutis. Our objective was to employ a panel of cytochemical and immunohistochemical markers to determine which ones would be most useful in separating these two entities. Methods: We stained 17 cases of cutaneous mast cell disease and 20 cases of myeloid leukemia cutis with Giemsa, toluidine blue, or pinacyanol erythrosinate (PE), as well as with antibodies against mast cell tryptase, microphthalmia transcription factor (MiTF), CD117 (c-kit), myeloperoxidase, CD43, CD25, CD2, and CD68. Results: Mast cell tryptase and MiTF emerged as highly sensitive and specific markers for mast cell disease in this context, as both antibodies stained all cases of mast cell diseases but none of myeloid leukemia cutis. Although CD117 stained all cases of mast cell disease, it also stained 2 of 18 cases of myeloid leukemia cutis. PE appeared to be specific for mast cell disease, as 11 of 12 cases stained with this marker, compared with 0 of 18 cases of myeloid leukemia cutis. Conclusions: Our results show that mast cell tryptase and MiTF are equally effective in distinguishing mast cell disease from myeloid leukemia cutis.
Toward an Integrated Theory of White-Collar Crime

This paper attempts to integrate etiological research on white-collar crime under the hypothesis that criminal behavior results from the confluence of appropriate motivation and opportunity. The starting point is the interactionist theory of motivation basic to most of the social psychological research on white-collar crime. Interactionist theory helps us understand white-collar crime in terms of the offenders' symbolic construction of their social worlds but ultimately fails to explain its causes. It is argued that the origins of symbolic motivational patterns are to be found in the social structure of industrial capitalism and the "culture of competition" to which it gives rise. But no theory of motivation, however sophisticated, is sufficient to explaint the causes of white-collar crime, and the paper therefore concludes with an analysis of the patterns of opportunities presented to social actors in different structural positions in advanced capitalist nations.
High-resolution modeling of the far infrared

Monochromatic calculations have been used to ascertain the far-infrared (wave numbers less than 650 cm-1) contribution to the thermal energy budget of the Earth's atmosphere-surface system. The results of the model calculations for clear-sky conditions have demonstrated that nearly half of the outgoing thermal energy emanates from the far-infrared. Despite the critical importance of the far- infrared, however, very few direct measurements of this spectral region have been made by satellite, aircraft, and surface instruments. Thus the present study has used the monochromatic calculations both to quantify the magnitude of the radiative impact which the infrared-active molecules have upon the absorption and emission of far-infrared energy within the atmosphere, and to focus our attention on the subintervals within the far-infrared that may provide the most useful measurements for climate studies. The results of the monochromatic calculations have illustrated the importance of the radiative effects attributed to the line and continuum features associated with the pure rotation band of water vapor. Subdividing the far-infrared into moderately narrow band (~100 to 200 cm-1) spectral regions has facilitated an analysis of the relative contributions of those spectral regions for a variety of atmospheric conditions. The results from the contribution function calculations have demonstrated that a careful selection of the far-infrared narrow band subintervals can prove very useful in determining both upper and lower tropospheric humidity.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A Direct Data Entry System for Toxicologic Pathology

A specialized pathology data acquisition and retrieval system is interfaced to a larger comprehensive data system which acquires and maintains research and colony management data on thousands of animals. The system has been designed to give the pathologist the widest possible latitude for expression while maintaining the capability to organize and categorize the resulting data. Easily understood mnemonic codes are used when menu selections are requested from a display screen. Once mnemonic codes are selected, the resulting data record, when later accessed, is always converted to full text prior to display. In other words, the pathologist always selects from a subset of mnemonic codes when generating anatomic descriptions and from full texts lists of tumors and nonneoplastic lesions. The program then converts them to their coded format for compact storage. On subsequent retrieval, however, as in the search program, the coded data are converted to full text.
Is Fluconazole or an Echinocandin the Agent of Choice for Candidemia

Objective: Candidemia is among the most common nosocomial bloodstream infections and is associated with high mortality, increased length of hospital stay, and significant economic burden. The introduction of the echinocandins in the 2000s has expanded the armamentarium against Candida spp and provides therapeutic options that are effective, safe, and tolerable. Although the Infectious Diseases Society of America favors echinocandins as treatment for candidemia in selected settings (at least as initial therapy), there remain divergent opinions about whether an echinocandin or fluconazole is the preferred agent for candidemia, and clinical practice guidelines are in flux. In this review, the currently available laboratory and clinical data are summarized and critically evaluated. Data Sources: A MEDLINE search of the English language literature was performed using the search terms echinocandin, fluconazole, and candidemia. References of review articles and guidelines were also screened for inclusion. Study ...
Predicting Death in Patients With Acute Type A Aortic Dissection

Background— Given the high mortality rates in patients with type A aortic dissection, predictive tools to identify patients at increased risk of death are needed to assist clinicians for optimal treatment. Methods and Results— Accordingly, we evaluated 547 patients with this diagnosis enrolled in the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection (IRAD) between January 1996 and December 1999. Univariate testing followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of death. In-hospital mortality rate was 32.5% in type A dissection patients. In-hospital complications (neurological deficits, altered mental status, myocardial or mesenteric ischemia, kidney failure, hypotension, cardiac tamponade, and limb ischemia) were increased in patients who died compared with survivors (P<0.05 for all). Logistic regression identified the following presenting variables as predictors of death: age ≥70 years (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.77; P=0.03), abrupt onset of chest ...
Evolution and ecology of MHC molecules: from genomics to sexual selection

In the past few years the DNA sequence database for molecules of the MHC (major histocompatibility complex) has expanded greatly, yielding a more complete picture of the long-term rates and patterns of evolution of the MHC in vertebrates. Sharing of MHC allelic lineages between long-diverged species (trans-species evolution) has been detected virtually wherever it is sought, but new analyses of linked neutral regions and the complexities of sequence convergence and microrecombination in the peptide binding region challenge traditional phylogenetic analyses. Methods for estimating the intensity of selection on MHC genes suggest that viability is important, but recent studies in natural populations of mammals give inconsistent results concerning mate choice. The complex and interacting roles of microrecombination, parasite-mediated selection and mating preferences for maintaining the extraordinary levels of MHC polymorphism observed are still difficult to evaluate.
The Duality between the Boussinesq and Non-Boussinesq Hydrostatic Equations of Motion

Abstract The hydrostatic equations of motion for ocean circulation, written in terms of pressure as the vertical coordinate, and without making the Boussinesq approximation in the continuity equation, correspond very closely with the hydrostatic Boussinesq equations written in terms of depth as the vertical coordinate. Two mathematical equivalences between these non-Boussinesq and Boussinesq equation sets are demonstrated: first, for motions over a level bottom; second, for general motions with a rigid lid. A third non-Boussinesq equation set, for general motions with a free surface, is derived and is shown to possess a similar duality with the Boussinesq set after making due allowance for exchange of the roles of bottom pressure and sea surface height in the boundary conditions, a reversal of the direction of integration of the hydrostatic equation, and substitution of specific volume for density in the hydrostatic equation. The crucial simplification in these equations of motion comes from the hydrostat...
Non-Linear Structure-Aware Image Sharpening with Difference of Smoothing Operators

In this paper, we propose an effective data-adaptive filtering mechanism for sharpening of noisy and moderately blurred images. We establish the connection of our proposed data-adaptive filtering procedure with the classic Difference of Gaussians (DoG) operator widely used in image processing and computer graphics. Our proposed filter renders a data-adaptive and noise robust version of the classical DoG filter. We also discuss interesting special cases of our general sharpening method. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed technique for sharpening real images.
The Quranic Paradigm: A Contest Over Man

The Qur’ān may be read as an epic in which God enters into a contest with Iblis – a contest staged by God – over man who is both spirit and matter, light and darkness. Man is endowed with faculties of knowing – he has eyes, ears, reason and heart – and he is also free to choose his destiny, to choose God or Iblis. The earthly pull on man is strong, but God aids him through his prophets, and, in the Qur’ān, guides him through sustained reasoning to recognize His Creator, and to choose the path that will bring him back to his origin. In the Qur’ān, self-regarding man seeks to displace God: and God takes up the challenge, in a combative fashion, to save man from himself.
The 3-Isometric Lifting Theorem

An operator T on Hilbert space is a 3-isometry if \({T^{*n}T^{n}= I +n B_1 +n^{2} B_2}\) is quadratic in n. An operator J is a Jordan operator if J = U + N where U is unitary, N2 = 0 and U and N commute. If T is a 3-isometry and \({c > 0,}\) then \({I-c^{-2} B_{2} + sB_{1} + s^{2}B_2}\) is positive semidefinite for all real s if and only if it is the restriction of a Jordan operator J = U + N with the norm of N at most c. As a corollary, an analogous result for 3-symmetric operators, due to Helton and Agler, is recovered.
Toward Cooperative Capitalism

The paper comparatively studies non-cooperative mechanism and cooperative mechanism and attempts to search for the one having advantage in reducing rent-seeking distortions as well as stimulating economic growth. We propose a notion of cooperative capitalism, which combines the cooperative mechanism with competitive market mechanism. It is shown that it leads to faster growth than non-cooperative mechanism and simultaneously satisfies individual rationality, group rationality, Pareto efficiency and sub-game consistency. Moreover, the growing-economy’s microfoundation is constructed based on search intensity, bilateral matching and market composition in the competitive capital market. JEL classification: C70, D02, O43, P50.
Cellular Response to Heterogeneously Charged Polystyrene

Cells are sensitive to topological, chemical and electrical properties of substrates on which they are grown. However, most studies of cell-surface interactions have neglected electrical effects or confounded them with other substrate properties. The use of nanofabrication technology has made it possible to fabricate optically transparent surfaces, with controlled chemistry and topology, with active, controllable surface charge density in domains as small as 1–4 um1. Human monocytes incubated on polystyrene with 3.3 um wide strip domains alternately charged, so as to maintain overall charge neutrality, show significant charge density and time dependent increases (greater than twofold) in cell area and cell perimeter after challenge with a phagocytic trigger (human IgG opsonized Zymosan particles). Additional ultrastructural studies on silicon dioxide substrates show charge density dependent qualitative morphological differences. The human monocytes exhibited significant charge density and time dependent hyper-phagocytosis (> 25 fold increase over control) of human IgG opsonized Zymosan particles. The charge-induced surfaces modulated the amplitude of the secreted extracellular levels of cytokines and also induced a temporal shift in the kinetics of cytokine release2. These studies demonstrate that human blood peripheral monocytes respond in-vitro to the peak magnitude of local surface charge heterogeneity in the absence of substrate topology and compositional variation.
Functional Characteristics of the Camey Ileal Bladder

AbstractWe studied postoperatively 14 men who underwent urinary diversion with a Camey ileal bladder in association with radical cystoprostatectomy. Clinical and urodynamic evaluations revealed that the ileal bladder provides a moderate pressure reservoir (mean pressure at capacity 37cm. water) and offers the patient reliable daytime continence. The mean capacity of 362ml. allows for a voiding interval of 2.2 hours but it is not adequate for storage of urine produced through the night, so that nocturnal enuresis results universally. Even after 2 years of followup the tubular-shaped ileal reservoir maintained physiological contraction waves of segmentation and peristalsis typical of human ileum. Voiding is accomplished by abdominal straining and an intraluminal pressure of more than 50cm. water is required to maintain the urine flow. Mean peak flow rate was 19ml. per second. Reflux was prevented successfully in 86 per cent of the renal units. Metabolic acidosis was seen in 43 per cent of the patients. Whil...
Writing Up and Presenting Your Research

Now you are ready to share your research with others, either by publishing it or by presenting it. Since it is both theory grounded in practice and practice framed by theory, it can be an important contribution to the teaching profession. The publication can be a thesis or a journal article. The presentation can be at your department meeting to colleagues or proceedings at a national conference.
A Late Basketmaker III Storage and Habitation Site Near Hurricane, Utah

ABSTRACTA small late Basketmaker III Virgin Anasazi habitation and storage site was excavated near Hurricane, Utah. The site consists of a number of aboveground storage features, an unusual enclosed plaza area surrounded by a collapsed rubble wall, and a generally thin surface scatter of artifacts. Shovel scraping and use of mechanized equipment failed to locate any pithouses or deep middens. A suite of largely consistent radiocarbon dates centering on A.D. 650, the abundance of early painted ceramic designs, and consistency within the ceramic assemblage indicate that the site may have been an unusually short-lived habitation of the Virgin Anasazi. The diversity of lithic artifacts and structural features indicates that the site functioned as a habitation as well as a storage site, and the floral and faunal remains suggest reliance on maize agriculture and hunting.
Teaching Environmental Justice Through The Hunger Games

escalating ecological turmoil, we must teach environmental values earlier, equipping our students to navigate a world that will pit them against others in the ferocious fight over diminishing natural resources. To prepare them for the future, we need to make the mechanisms by which the world works—as one country exploits another and the wealthy live off the poor—visible, so they can make informed choices. In this article, I am going to show how I teach the young adult novel The Hunger Games (Collins, 2008) to do just that. The Hunger Games is perfect for teaching environmental and social justice: it has a gripping plot, it thinly veils the global food system in fiction, making it nonthreatening and visible, and it argues that practicing compassion is the only way to survive a system based on competition. To begin, I will define Environmental Justice and give some examples of how to illustrate this concept. Then, I will give a brief overview of the global food system as well as ways to frame it. Last, I will show how I lead my students to see, through the politics of Panem, how the global food system operates, and discuss how the novel instantiates compassion as an alternative to the politics of greed. Some of these methods and concepts may not be wholly suitable for every grade level, but any teacher can adapt them.