cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ischemic /Reperfused Myocardium Can Express Recombinant Protein Following Direct DNA or Retroviral Injection

A non-contracting scar following myocardial infarction can adversely affect ventricular topography and hemodynamic function. Gene transfer has the potential to prevent or alter such pathophysiological processes. Normal myocardium is a proven target for delivery of DNA or viral vectors but the potential for gene therapy in ischemic myocardium has not been evaluated. In an initial series of experiments, we determined whether the direct injection of reporter genes into hearts subjected to coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion could result in gene expression comparable to the levels observed in non-occluded normal hearts. Anesthetized rats were subjected to 15 min or 60 min of proximal coronary occlusion or sham operation. Luciferase gene under the control of the Rous sarcoma virus promoter was injected directly into the anterior left wall. At 1 week, high expression of luciferase was observed in both the ischemic/reperfused and non-ischemic tissue. Thus DNA transfer by direct injection is possible after ischemic injury and uptake and expression are not impaired. In a second series of experiments, myocardial infarcts in dogs were injected with a beta-galactosidase expressing retroviral vector. LNPOZ. Six to 11 days later frozen sections revealed macroscopically visible expression of beta-galactosidase activity. Not only can foreign genes be taken up by direct injection of DNA or retroviruses into ischemic/reperfused myocardium but they can be transcribed and the protein synthetic machinery of the injured cells can produce recombinant polypeptides that retain enzymatic activity. These results open the way for the investigation of gene therapy in models of ischemia.
The Hope Bridge Program: Addressing Recidivism through Education and Employment.

Pueblo Community College has 13 correctional facilities within its service area. Former offenders are faced with numerous challenges that may prevent them from successfully redirecting their lives. The current three-year recidivism rate in Colorado is 53.2%. Data collected at the end of the first year of the HOPE Bridge Program indicates that education is an important factor in addressing recidivism and successfully transitioning former offenders into the community.
Microbial uranium immobilization independent of nitrate reduction

At many uranium processing and handling facilities, including sites in the US Department of Energy (DOE) complex, high levels of nitrate are present as co-contamination with uranium in groundwater. The daunting prospect of complete nitrate removal prior to the reduction of uranium provides a strong incentive to explore bioremediation strategies that allow for uranium bioreduction and stabilization in the presence of nitrate. Typical in situ strategies involving the stimulation of metal-reducing bacteria are hindered by low-pH environments and require that the persistent nitrate must first and continuously be removed or transformed prior to uranium being a preferred electron acceptor. This work investigated the possibility of stimulating nitrate-indifferent, pH-tolerant microorganisms to achieve bioreduction of U(VI) despite nitrate persistence. Enrichments from U-contaminated sediments demonstrated nearly complete reduction of uranium with very little loss of nitrate from pH 5.7-6.2 using methanol or glycerol as a carbon source. Bacterial 16S rRNA genes were amplified from uranium-reducing enrichments (pH 5.7-6.2) and sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses classified the clone sequences into four distinct clusters. Data from sequencing and terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) profiles indicated that the majority of the microorganisms stimulated by these enrichment conditions consisted of low G+C Gram-positive bacteria most closely related to Clostridium and Clostridium-like organisms. This research demonstrates that the stimulation of a natural microbial community to immobilize U through bioreduction is possible without the removal of nitrate.
Heat dissipation in high-power GaN electronics on thermally resistive substrates

The heat dissipation in GaN devices grown on low thermal conductivity lithium gallate (LGO) substrates was investigated. The thermal conductivity of single-crystal LGO was measured utilizing the 3/spl omega/ technique for temperatures ranging from 100 K-500 K. For the GaN layer, the thermal conductivity was estimated using a phonon transport model which included dislocation density and temperature dependence. These data were then used in a finite element program to determine the thermal behavior of a heterojunction field-effect transistor. Based on a maximum junction temperature of 500 K, it was found that devices with a power dissipation of 1 W/mm were possible if the primary heat dissipation path was through the low thermal conductivity substrate. However, in using a front side cooling scheme, results suggest that it may be possible to develop devices with power dissipation in the range of 10 W/mm.
The Cardiopulmonary Response to OKT3 in Orthotopic Cardiac Transplant Recipients

Improvement in the outcome from cardiac transplantation can be attributed to recent advances in immunosuppression, including the use of OKT3, a new monoclonal antibody. The first dose of OKT3 induces side effects such as dyspnea in other transplant populations. We studied cardiopulmonary responses to OKT3 in 23 recipients of cardiac transplants. Despite pretreatment including antihistamines, hydrocortisone, and acetaminophen, OKT3 administered within 72 hours of transplantation, as part of prophylactic immunosuppression, induced a biphasic systemic response. Within the first hour, patients developed fever, hyperdynamia, hypertension, and tachycardia. By five to seven hours after the dose, there was mild hypotension, hypoxemia, and decreased indices of vascular resistance. Eighteen of the 23 patients required supplemental oxygen or vasopressor support (or both). Our findings define a complex cardiovascular response to OKT3 exhibited by the delayed noncoincident onset of hemodynamic instability, hypoxemia, and fever. Close observation in an ICU is recommended during the initial administration of OKT3 for prompt intervention when reactions occur.
Long-term results of the surgical management of intermittent exotropia

Purpose To examine long-term surgical success rates (>10 years) for patients with intermittent exotropia and the risk factors for failure of surgery in these patients. Methods An attempt was made to contact all patients who underwent surgical treatment for intermittent exotropia between the years of 1970 to 1998 with a minimum postoperative follow-up of 10 years. Each patient underwent a detailed sensory and motor examination, including measurements of near and distance stereoacuity, cover testing, and ocular rotations. Patients were classified as achieving an excellent, fair, or poor outcome on the basis of motor and sensory outcomes. Risk factor analysis was performed to evaluate associations with a poor outcome and reoperations. Results Of 197 patients identified, 50 were reevaluated. When combined motor/sensory criteria for surgical success were used, we found that 38% of patients achieved an excellent outcome, whereas 34% and 28% achieved a fair or poor outcome, respectively. When only the motor criteria were used, we found that 64% had an excellent outcome, whereas the remaining patients achieved either a fair (18%) or a poor (18%) outcome. During the follow-up period, 60% of patients required at least one reoperation. Multivariate risk factor analysis determined that anisometropia (p = 0.03) was associated with a poor outcome, whereas postoperative undercorrection (p = 0.04) and lateral incomitance (p = 0.06) were associated with reoperations. Conclusions Long-term surgical results in intermittent exotropia are less encouraging when sensory status is added to the evaluation. Patients with anisometropia, lateral incomitance, and immediate postoperative undercorrection are at increased risk for poor outcomes and to require reoperations.
The influence of nearest neighbors on the rate and pattern of spontaneous point mutations.

The numbers and local sequence environments of the two types of substitution mutation plus additions and deletions have been obtained directly in this study from differences between a large number of extant primate gene and pseudogene sequences. A total of 3786 mutations were scored in regions where similarities between pseudogene and corresponding gene sequences is ≥ 85%, comprising ∼30% of the pseudogene database of 80,584 bp. The pattern of mutations obtained in this fashion is almost identical to that obtained by Li et al. (1984) using a slightly different, more direct approach and with a smaller database. When mutations were scored, the neighbor pairs on the 5′ and 3′ sides were also noted, leading to a large 16 × 12 matrix of transitions and transversions. Biases of varying magnitude are found in the rates of substitution of the same base pair in different local sequence environments. The overall order for the effect of the 5′ neighbor on the rates of substitution mutation of a pyrimidine is A > C ≫ T > G, and G > A > T > C for the 3′ neighbor; where these results represent the average of substitution rates for the complement purine with complement neighbors of bases ordered above. The order for the 3′ neighbor is essentially the same for the two transitions and most of the four transversions as well; however, the order for the 5′ neighbor is more variable. The overall rate for the C · G → T · A transition is not unusual, however the presence of a 3′ neighboring G · C pair boosts the rate substantially, presumably due to specific cytosine methylation of the CG doublet in primate DNAs. The rate of the T · A → C · G transition is also well above average when the 3′ neighbor is an A · T, and to a lesser extent a G · C, pair. The latter bias is typical in that it reflects the association of alternating pyrimidine-purine sequences with increasing mutation rates. The substitution of the pyrimidine in a 5′ purine-pyrimi-dine-purine3′ sequence generally occurs much faster than in a pyrimidine tract and points to the local conformation as a major determining factor of the substitution rate. An apparent inverse relationship is found between starting and product doublet frequencies of base pairs undergoing mutations with specific 3′ neighbors, indicating that differences in intrinsic substitution rates of base pairs with specific neighbors are a key factor in producing the familiar biases of nearest-neighbor frequencies.
Competing inventors and the incentive to invent

This article introduces a comprehensive model of the market for inventions that examines how both supply-side competition and demand-side competition affect the incentive to invent. Supply-side competition refers to competition among inventors and demand-side competition refers to competition among producers in the downstream product market. The main results are as follows. Competing inventors have greater average expected returns to invention when the downstream market is competitive than when the downstream product market is monopolistic, so downstream competition increases the incentive to invent. A multi-project monopoly inventor has greater incremental expected returns to invention when the downstream market is competitive than when it is monopolistic, so downstream competition again increases the incentive to invent. On the supply side, competition among inventors generates more R&D projects than a multi-project monopoly inventor when the demand side of the market for inventions is competitive. The reason for this result is that when the downstream market is competitive, the average expected returns to invention with competition among inventors are greater than the incremental expected returns to invention with a multi-project monopoly inventor. Copyright 2013 The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.
Inhomogeneous models of the atmosphere of Saturn

Ultraviolet spectra and absorption band measurements of H2, CH4 and NH3 at visible and near-infrared wavelengths are referred to in developing an inhomogeneous atmospheric model for Saturn. The atmospheric model includes a clear gas layer which lies above an absorbing particle layer surmounting an ammonia haze layer. The distribution of particles in the atmosphere, the radiative transfer calculations, and atmospheric mixing are considered. Comparisons are made with an atmospheric model of Saturn based on infrared observations.
Secretion of ecdysteroid by sheaths of testes of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, and its regulation by testis ecdysiotropin

Testes of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, secrete ecdysteroid in vitro during the silk-spinning pharate pupa stage and in mid to late adult development during the pupal stage. Low titers (3–6 pg/μl) of exogenous 20-hydroxyecdysone are required to elicit endogenous ecdysteroid production. Testis ecdysiotropin (TE) was detected in acid methanolic extracts of brains of immobile pharate pupae and mid-development pupae. It was possible to activate early last-instar testes of both L. dispar and Heliothis virescens to synthesize ecdysteroid by exposing them to TE prepared from pupae of either species. Although testes of L. dispar contained no detectable ecdysone, they were able to convert (3H) ecdysone to 20-hydroxyecdysone and a highly polar fraction. The active ecdysteroid product of L. dispar testes is probably 20-hydroxyecdysone.
The Epidemiological Profile of Infections with Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter Species

Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Acinetobacter species that are resistant to all, or almost all, commercially available antibiotics are now prevalent worldwide. Typically, these strains are recovered from patients in intensive care units who have ventilator‐associated pneumonia. “Panresistant” strains can be defined as strains that are resistant to all β‐lactam and quinolone antibiotics recommended as empirical therapy for ventilator‐associated pneumonia. These strains are well adapted to the hospital environment—molecular epidemiological studies have frequently revealed that only 1 or 2 clones caused outbreaks in intensive care units. However, panresistant strains may also be selected by antibiotic use. Given the lack of antibiotic options to treat infection with panresistant strains, enhanced surveillance for these organisms is necessary at unit‐specific, institutional, and national levels.
GABAergic drugs alter hypothalamic serotonin release and lordosis in estrogen-primed rats.

Abstract The effects of muscimol, a GABAA agonist, and phaclofen, a GABAB antagonist, on serotonin (5HT) release in the mediobasal hypothalamus and lordosis behavior were studied in freely moving rats using in vivo microdialysis. Two days after implantation of bilateral guide cannulae directed towards the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH), ovariectomized rats were primed with estradiol (E2). The rats were implanted with microdialysis probes 24 h later. Following a pretest for lordosis, perfusate 5HT was measured at 20-min intervals until the baseline was stable. The rats were treated with 10, 30 or 100 μM muscimol or 30 and 100 μM phaclofen in artificial CSF delivered via reverse dialysis for 40 min. Control animals were continuously perfused with artificial CSF. Behavior was tested 20, 60 and 180 min after introduction of the drug. Decreased hypothalamic 5HT (40–60% of baseline) and marked facilitation of lordosis were present 20 min after administration of either drug. The effects of 10 and 30 μM muscimol and 30 μM phaclofen on both 5HT and lordosis were reversed after 180 min. Reversal of the behavioral and neurochemical effects were not evident in either the 100 μM muscimol or 100 μM phaclofen groups at the time-points tested. Proceptive responses were observed in phaclofen-treated rats but not in rats treated with muscimol. Levels of hypothalamic 5HT and lordosis quotients in control rats did not significantly differ from initial values. These results suggest that GABAergic effects on lordosis may be mediated through an interaction with 5HT in the mediobasal hypothalamus.
Successful brainstem cavernous malformation resection after repeated hemorrhages during pregnancy

BACKGROUND Pregnancy may be a risk factor for aggressive behavior in cavernous malformations. Relatively few cases exist in the literature and management is unclear. METHODS This unique case report describes a 28-year-old female 27 weeks pregnant who presented with 2 hemorrhages from a pontine cavernous malformation within 1 week. Morbidity increased with the second hemorrhage. RESULTS The patient underwent a suboccipital craniotomy and excision of the cavernous malformation. She successfully delivered a normal child at 36 weeks gestation and is ambulatory and independent 3 months postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS Pregnancy and prior hemorrhage may be risk factors for repeated hemorrhages. Management decisions can be difficult during pregnancy, but successful excision during pregnancy is possible. The behavior of cavernous malformations and management decisions for this patient are discussed.
Protein Kinase C δ (δPKC)-Annexin V Interaction A REQUIRED STEP IN δPKC TRANSLOCATION AND FUNCTION

Protein kinase C (PKC) plays a critical role in diseases such as cancer, stroke, and cardiac ischemia, and participates in a variety of signal transduction pathways such as apoptosis, cell proliferation, and tumor suppression. Though much is known about PKC downstream signaling events, the mechanisms of regulation of PKC activation and subsequent translocation have not been elucidated. Protein-protein interactions regulate and determine the specificity of many cellular signaling events. Such a specific protein-protein interaction is described here between δPKC and annexin V. We demonstrate, at physiologically relevant conditions, that a transient interaction between annexin V and δPKC occurs in cells after δPKC stimulation, but before δPKC translocates to the particulate fraction. Evidence of δPKC-annexin V binding is provided also by FRET and by in vitro binding studies. Dissociation of the δPKC-annexin V complex requires ATP and microtubule integrity. Furthermore, depletion of endogenous annexin V, but not annexin IV, with siRNA inhibits δPKC translocation following PKC stimulation. A rationally designed eight amino acid peptide, corresponding to the interaction site for δPKC on annexin V, inhibits δPKC translocation and δPKC-mediated function as evidenced by its protective effect in a model of myocardial infarction. Our data indicate that translocation of δPKC is not simply a diffusion-driven process, but is instead a multi-step event regulated by protein-protein interactions. We show that following cell activation, δPKC-annexin V binding is a transient and an essential step in the function of δPKC, thus identifying a new role for annexin V in PKC signaling and a new step in PKC activation.
Optimal design of force magnification frame of a piezoelectric stack energy harvester

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One- and Two-Dimensional Miniaturized Electrophoresis of Proteins with Native Fluorescence Detection

Miniaturized electrophoresis was successfully coupled with native fluorescence detection for direct analysis of proteins in one- and two-dimensional separations. The detection setup was based on direct observation of the UV-induced fluorescence of proteins using a CCD camera and a Hg (Xe) lamp for sample excitation. Protein mixtures were readily separated by size on a 1-cm segment of the one-dimensional gel in 8 min, and a detection limit of 0.04 ng per band was achieved. The dynamic range of the system was larger than 2 orders of magnitude. Miniaturized slab gel electrophoresis was performed on a special holder designed to couple isoelectric focusing with SDS−PAGE. Two-dimensional separation, including rehydration of IEF strip and fluorescence detection was completed in 2.5 h. Approximately 200 protein spots from Escherichia coli were detected on a 1 cm2 area. A detection limit of 0.1 μg of total protein was achieved. The operation should be amenable to total automation.
Synoptic climatology and the general circulation model

One of the main research directions of synoptic climatology in recent years has been its application to the output of general circulation models. These applications have spanned the wide array of synoptic techniques, from traditional ones such as correlation-based maps to more recently developed ones such as self-organizing maps and fuzzy clusters. Here, we review the main themes of recent articles, including assessments of the ability of GCMs to replicate historical circulation pattern frequency, as well as the incorporation of synoptic methods to assess GCM capability in producing estimates of precipitation and the likelihood of extreme events. Results from these articles are quite heterogeneous, suggesting that the selection of the GCM, the variables that are used to drive the categorization, and the specific methodology chosen are all important in determining the efficacy of the research and application.
Influence of macroconsumers, stream position, and nutrient gradients on invertebrate assemblage development following flooding in intermittent prairie streams

Climate change in the US Great Plains is expected to result in less frequent but more severe floods. This will affect hydrologic cycles, stream organisms, and ultimately ecosystem structure and function. We examined factors influencing invertebrate assemblages following flooding in 3 reaches (20 pools) of Kings Creek, an intermittent prairie stream on the Konza Prairie Biological Station, using replicated macroconsumer enclosures (fishless, dace, shiners, ambient). Invertebrate densities and biomass increased rapidly following scouring, including rapid colonizing taxa and relatively long-lived taxa, but macroconsumers had no significant effects. Rather, distance, which was negatively correlated with the concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen, from the downstream confluence with a larger stream significantly influenced assemblage structure, with higher richness and greater nutrient concentrations closer to the confluence. Results support previous findings that recovery patterns following flooding in this grassland stream are strongly influenced by proximity to refuges. Furthermore, physical rather than biological factors appear more influential in structuring invertebrate assemblages in these frequently disturbed systems. Predicted increases in the intensity and duration of hydrologic disturbances will increase direct impacts on stream communities, relative to indirect effects through potential changes in macroconsumer communities. Human activities that alter refuges may further impede recovery following hydrologic disturbances.
Embolectomy of a bird's nest vena caval filter

Abstract In this case report we describe a successful embolectomy of a partially migrated Bird's Nest Caval Filter with attached embolie material. We used transesophageal echocardiography to guide the surgical approach. The patient recovered uneventfully from both the embolectomy and the subsequent pelvic operation.
Pulmonary function testing in spinal cord injury: correlation with vital capacity

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes restrictive ventilatory changes, with reductions in vital capacity, functional residual capacity, and expiratory reserve volume. Vital capacity (VC) often is used as an indicator of overall pulmonary function in these patients. In an effort to determine the extent to which VC correlates with other pulmonary function tests, 52 patients with recent acute traumatic SCI underwent complete pulmonary function testing. Statistical relationships were determined between VC and nine other tests. VC was found to be significantly correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 s, inspiratory capacity, expiratory reserve volume, functional residual capacity, residual volume (RV), total lung capacity (TLC), and RV/TLC ratio, but not with maximum positive expiratory pressure nor with maximum negative inspiratory pressure. The excellent correlations between vital capacity and nearly all of the other pulmonary function tests support the use of VC as a single global measure of overall ventilatory status in SCI patients.
Tendon Transfers for Radial, Median, and Ulnar Nerve Injuries: Current Surgical Techniques

Tendon transfers are performed predominantly to restore hand function or balance due to injuries of the radial, median, and ulnar nerves. Current surgical techniques for the most common tendon transfers for reconstruction of radial, median, and ulnar nerve palsies are demonstrated. These techniques can also be applied to restore flexion and extension of the fingers and thumb after injuries to the extrinsic flexor and extensor muscles and tendons of the forearm or intrinsic muscles of the hand.
The free oscillations of an anelastic aspherical earth

Summary. Some century-old results, due to Rayleigh and Routh, have been adapted to investigate the normal mode eigenfrequencies and eigenfunctions of an earth with laterally variable anelasticity and to determine the transient response of such an earth to earthquakes. Using degenerate perturbation theory, the eigenfrequencies are found to first order and the associated eigenfunctions to zeroth order in the small deviations of the Earth away from a spherical perfectly elastic reference earth model. Both the eigenfrequencies and the eigenfunctions are complex and, in addition, the latter are not mutually orthogonal, reflecting the non-Hermitian character of the normal mode eigenvalue problem. The effect of laterally heterogeneous attenuation on the shape of an unresolved multiplet spectrum has been investigated in the surface-wave geometrical-optics limit. Singlet cancellation leads in that limit to the appearance of a single resonance peak whose decay rate or apparent Q-' depends only on the average attenuation structure underlying the source-receiver great-circle path.
Developmental functional adaptation to high altitude: review.

Various approaches have been used to understand the origins of the functional traits that characterize the Andean high-altitude native. Based on the conceptual framework of developmental functional adaptation which postulates that environmental influences during the period of growth and development have long lasting effects that may be expressed during adulthood, we initiated a series of studies addressed at determining the pattern of physical growth and the contribution of growth and development to the attainment of full functional adaptation to high-altitude of low and high altitude natives living under rural and urban conditions. Current research indicate that: (a) the pattern of growth at high altitude due to limited nutritional resources, physical growth in body size is delayed but growth in lung volumes is accelerated because of hypoxic stress); (b) low-altitude male and female urban natives can attain a full functional adaptation to high altitude by exposure to high-altitude hypoxia during the period of growth and development; (c) both experimental studies on animals and comparative human studies indicate that exposure to high altitude during the period of growth and development results in the attainment of a large residual lung volume; (d) this developmentally acquired enlarged residual lung volume and its associated increase in alveolar area when combined with the increased tissue capillarization and moderate increase in red blood cells and hemoglobin concentration contributes to the successful functional adaptation of the Andean high-altitude native to hypoxia; and (e) any specific genetic traits that are related to the successful functional adaptation of Andean high-altitude natives have yet to be identified. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 25:151–168, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Tobacco Farmer Interest and Success in Income Diversification

As farm income from tobacco production has declined in recent years, there has been increasing interest in identifying alternative sources of income for tobacco farmers in the southern United States The recent termination of the tobacco quota progra mh as accelerated the exit of tobacco farmers and has heightened concern regarding the availability of substitutes for tobacco production. In this study, we examine factors influencing tobacco farmers’ attempts to identify profitable alternatives to tobacco, their off-farm employment behavior, and changes in acres of tobacco cultivated using survey data collected from a panel of North Carolina tobacco farmers combined with market data.
A privacy-preserving index for range queries

Database outsourcing is an emerging data management paradigm which has the potential to transform the IT operations of corporations. In this paper we address privacy threats in database outsourcing scenarios where trust in the service provider is limited. Specifically, we analyze the data partitioning (bucketization) technique and algorithmically develop this technique to build privacy-preserving indices on sensitive attributes of a relational table. Such indices enable an untrusted server to evaluate obfuscated range queries with minimal information leakage. We analyze the worst-case scenario of inference attacks that can potentially lead to breach of privacy (e.g., estimating the value of a data element within a small error margin) and identify statistical measures of data privacy in the context of these attacks. We also investigate precise privacy guarantees of data partitioning which form the basic building blocks of our index. We then develop a model for the fundamental privacy-utility tradeoff and design a novel algorithm for achieving the desired balance between privacy and utility (accuracy of range query evaluation) of the index.
Framing for scientific argumentation

In recent years, research on students' scientific argumentation has progressed to a recognition of nascent resources: Students can and do argue when they experience the need and possibility of persuading others who may hold competing views. Our purpose in this article is to contribute to this progress by applying the perspective of framing to the question of when and how a class forms and maintains a sense of their activity as argumentative. In particular, we examine three snippets from a sixth-grade class with respect to how the students—and the teacher—experience, or frame, what is taking place. We argue that they show dynamics of framing for individuals and for the class as a whole that affect and are affected by students' engagement in argumentation. We close the article with implications of this perspective for research, teaching, and instructional design. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 68–94, 2012
Angiotensin II–Mediated Negative Regulation of Npr1 Promoter Activity and Gene Transcription

Atrial natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPRA) plays important role(s) in the control of extracellular fluid volume and blood pressure homeostasis. We have determined and analyzed the functional promoter region of Npr1 gene (coding for NPRA) and studied the effect of angiotensin (Ang) II on its promoter activity and expression in cultured mouse mesangial cells. The promoter analysis of Npr1 gene revealed the presence of positive regulatory cis -elements in the regions −1982 to −1841 bp and −916 to −496 bp and of the repressor elements in the regions −1841 to −916 bp and 56 to 382 bp relative to transcription start site. The Ang II pretreatment of cultured mouse mesangial cells transiently transfected with the promoter construct pNPRA-luc1 significantly inhibited the promoter activity in a time- and dose-dependent manner, with a maximum inhibition at 24 hours. The Ang II–dependent repression of Npr1 promoter activity was partially blocked by both angiotensin type 1 and type 2 antagonists candesartan and PD 123,319, respectively. The mRNA level of NPRA was also downregulated by Ang II treatment as determined by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction assay. The deletion analysis showed that the promoter region ≈916 bp upstream of transcription start site contains the cis -elements involved in Ang II–mediated repression of transcription of Npr1 gene. The present study thus reveals the presence of functional cis -regulatory elements in the promoter region of the murine Npr1 gene and its transcriptional downregulation by vasoactive peptide Ang II.
Highly programmable digital controller for high-density epi-retinal prosthesis

This paper presents the analysis and circuit design of a digital controller supporting up to 1024-pixel epi-retinal prosthesis. High programmability of each stimulation pixel is desirable to support various physiological conditions. The goal of this design is to achieve high programmability with limited wireless transmission bandwidth. Two-tier architecture is adopted to reduce chip area. Several circuit blocks are developed in this design: on-chip address generator (OCAG) and configuration mode reduce the data bandwidth requirement by 54.7%; flexible data parser enables the optimization between data discard rate and maximum frame rate; delay timer makes any scanning pattern possible. Multi-clock domain and data gating design are used to reduce power. A prototype 256 pixels epi-retinal prosthesis controlled by the proposed digital controller is fabricated in a 0.18µm CMOS HV technology. This digital controller can be used in other implantable multi-channel stimulation systems.
Evaluation of Near-Tropopause Ozone Distributions in the Global Modeling Initiative Combined Stratosphere/Troposphere Model with Ozonesonde Data

The NASA Global Modeling Initiative has developed a combined stratosphere/troposphere chemistry and transport model which fully represents the processes governing atmospheric composition near the tropopause. We evaluate model ozone distributions near the tropopause, using two high vertical resolution monthly mean ozone profile climatologies constructed with ozonesonde data, one by averaging on pressure levels and the other relative to the thermal tropopause. Model ozone is high biased at the SH tropical and NH midlatitude tropopause by approx. 45% in a 4 deg. latitude x 5 deg. longitude model simulation. Increasing the resolution to 2 deg. x 2.5 deg. increases the NH tropopause high bias to approx. 60%, but decreases the tropical tropopause bias to approx. 30%, an effect of a better-resolved residual circulation. The tropopause ozone biases appear not to be due to an overly vigorous residual circulation or excessive stratosphere/troposphere exchange, but are more likely due to insufficient vertical resolution or excessive vertical diffusion near the tropopause. In the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, model/measurement intercomparisons are strongly affected by the averaging technique. NH and tropical mean model lower stratospheric biases are less than 20%. In the upper troposphere, the 2 deg. x 2.5 deg. simulation exhibits mean high biases of approx. 20% and approx. 35% during April in the tropics and NH midlatitudes, respectively, compared to the pressure averaged climatology. However, relative-to-tropopause averaging produces upper troposphere high biases of approx. 30% and 70% in the tropics and NH midlatitudes. This is because relative-to-tropopause averaging better preserves large cross-tropopause O3 gradients, which are seen in the daily sonde data, but not in daily model profiles. The relative annual cycle of ozone near the tropopause is reproduced very well in the model Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes. In the tropics, the model amplitude of the near tropopause annual cycle is weak. This is likely due to the annual amplitude of mean vertical upwelling near the tropopause, which analysis suggests is approx. 30% weaker than in the real atmosphere.
Kuiper Belt Objects: Relics from the Accretion Disk of the Sun

▪ Abstract The Kuiper Belt consists of a large number of small, solid bodies in heliocentric orbit beyond Neptune. Discovered as recently as 1992, the Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) are thought to hold the keys to understanding the early solar system, as well as the origin of outer solar system objects, such as the short-period comets and the Pluto-Charon binary. The KBOs are probably best viewed as aged relics of the Sun's accretion disk. Dynamical structures in the Kuiper Belt provide evidence for processes operative in the earliest days of the solar system, including a phase of planetary migration and a clearing phase, in which substantial mass was lost from the disk. Dust is produced to this day by collisions between KBOs. In its youth, the Kuiper Belt may have compared to the dust rings observed now around such stars as GG Tau and HR 4796A. This review presents the basic physical parameters of the KBOs and makes connections with the disks observed around nearby stars.
A Non-local Maximum-Likelihood Denoising Algorithm

Digital images obtained using CCD or CMOS sensors are subject to corruption by AWGN noise during sensor readout. Most of the techniques used for noise reduction in images have relied on methods that operate on global image attributes and noise assumptions. Recently, several approaches have been proposed that attempt to recover an un-corrupted image by examining attributes within a statistical neighborhood of an image. This paper will extend this body of work by describing a novel statistical neighborhood algorithm for denoising images. This algorithm exploits the naturally occurring redundancy in an image and employs an algorithm to selectively normalize and average redundant information in the corrupted image.
Culture and Memory Revisited An Example from Buganda

The free recall of words among several samples of Baganda schoolchildren are examined in light of recent studies conducted in Africa and elsewhere. Quantitative and qualitative differences in free recall within a specific age-education group suggest that there is interschool variability in some component of the educational process related to memory skills. It is thus suggested that years of education must be more carefully defined in cross-cultural studies of cognition.
2085 Strain encoded magnetic resonance imaging (SENC) assessment of regional ventricular function in pulmonary arterial hypertension – initial results

Introduction Evaluation of right ventricular (RV) function is an important prognostic factor in many cardiac and/or pulmonary conditions. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a major cause of RV dysfunction and failure, which in turn affects left ventricular performance due to ventricular interdependence. Cardiac MRI is a reproducible three dimensional tomographic tool providing accurate measurements of global right ventricular function. For the RV, measuring regional strain using MRI (e.g., using tagging) is limited by thin wall. Strain encoded MRI (SENC), however, enables the quantification of RV strain (1) in the longitudinal direction (Ell), which is the main contributor to RV contractile function. On the other hand, fast strain encoded MRI (fSENC) allows for single heartbeat, non breath hold, acquisitions; thus providing an alternative to patients experiencing difficulty in breath holding (2).
Microscopic mechanisms of laser spallation and ablation of metal targets from large-scale molecular dynamics simulations

The microscopic mechanisms of femtosecond laser ablation of an Al target are investigated in large-scale massively parallel atomistic simulations performed with a computational model combining classical molecular dynamics technique with a continuum description of the laser excitation and subsequent relaxation of conduction band electrons. The relatively large lateral size of the computational systems used in the simulations enables a detailed analysis of the evolution of multiple voids generated in a sub-surface region of the irradiated target in the spallation regime, when the material ejection is driven by the relaxation of laser-induced stresses. The nucleation, growth, and coalescence of voids take place within a broad (\(\sim \)100 nm) region of the target, leading to the formation of a transient foamy structure of interconnected liquid regions and eventual separation (or spallation) of a thin liquid layer from the bulk of the target. The thickness of the spalled layer is decreasing from the maximum of \(\sim \)50 nm while the temperature and ejection velocity are increasing with increasing fluence. At a fluence of \(\sim \)2.5 times the spallation threshold, the top part of the target reaches the conditions for an explosive decomposition into vapor and small clusters/droplets, marking the transition to the phase explosion regime of laser ablation. This transition is signified by a change in the composition of the ablation plume from large liquid droplets to a mixture of vapor-phase atoms and clusters/droplets of different sizes. The clusters of different sizes are spatially segregated in the expanding ablation plume, where small/medium size clusters present in the middle of the plume are followed by slower (velocities of less than 3 km/s) large droplets consisting of more than 10,000 atoms. The similarity of some of the characteristics of laser ablation of Al targets (e.g., evolution of voids in the spallation regime and cluster size distributions in the phase explosion regime) to the ones observed in earlier simulations performed for different target materials points to the common mechanical and thermodynamic origins of the underlying processes.
Natalist policies in the United States.

This retrospective reviews the policies that affect the fertility of American women, both policies designed to alter fertility intentionally as well as those that change childbearing unintentionally. Becker’s seminal work on the economics of fertility serves as the theoretical foundation for this literature. After describing Becker’s economic model, we review the empirical literature on fertility responses to social welfare policies, tax policies, the mandated health care coverage of infertility treatments, abortion policies, and government-sponsored family planning services. We also address several Supreme Court cases that have played an important role in the interpretation of these policies. Where relevant, this retrospective describes the distributional effects of these natalist policies. We also discuss the limitations of this literature and identify important gaps. Unlike most developed countries that have created strategies to increase fertility to support their ageing population, the United States spends considerably less time and thought on this issue. Our reading of the literature suggests that we have many public policies that have affected and continue to influence the fertility choices made by families in the United States and that this is a topical area that deserves more attention in policy debates. C � 2012 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Topical Immune Response Modifiers: Adjuvants

Imiquimod and ingenol mebutate are topical treatments widely utilized for their anti-tumor effects on actinic keratosis (AK). In addition to their anti-tumor effects, both topical medications are reported to be effective as off-label alternatives to treat various viral, inflammatory, and malignant skin conditions.
Hunter-Gatherer Societies, Ecological Impact of

A hunter-gatherer or foraging society is a group of people whose livelihood is based on the hunting (or fishing) of animals and gathering of plants. Whether or not foragers have an impact on their environment depends on several factors, some of which emanate from foragers themselves and others which are external to their society.
Effects of an early referral system on liver transplantation for hepatoblastoma at Texas Children's Hospital

The purposes of this study were to analyze the effects of an ERS on time to transplantation and to describe our center's experience with OLT for HB. Patients who received OLT for HB between 2000 and 2013 were included. Patient and allograft characteristics, chemotherapy regimens, and prior surgical therapies were examined. The interval between diagnosis and OLT prior to and following the institution of an ERS for transplant was compared. Survival and tumor recurrence were analyzed. Nineteen patients received OLT for HB (mean age 33 months). All children received grafts from deceased donors. Two patients underwent prior resections. Tumor recurred in four patients (21.1%). Both patients who received salvage transplants experienced post-OLT recurrence. Three of the four recurrences occurred in spite of adjuvant chemotherapy. There were three deaths: two from metastatic disease. One- and five-yr survivals were 86.1% and 73.8%. After the institution of the ERS, the mean interval between tissue diagnosis and OLT was significantly reduced. Our series of 19 patients demonstrates a 21% recurrence of HB following OLT despite chemotherapy. Five-yr survival reached 73.8%. A system of early referral can effectively reduce times between diagnosis and transplant.
Multinational corporations and governance reform: Towards a more integrative board

Multinational corporations (MNCs) dominate the global business arena, but traditional governance models do not map well on to these firms. Because a regulatory gap exists with MNCs, given that they do not operate within a clearly defined legal or political system, determining appropriate business conduct is even difficult for MNC boards aiming to do the right thing. However, very little research exists on how MNC governance and board practices translate between home country and various subsidiaries. Uniting political behavior theory and moral theories of global governance, we categorize four types of boards based on their legal, ethical and political orientations and then provide a framework for assessing the MNC board's propensity for reform.
Similar Kruskal-based Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Traveling Salesman Problem

This paper proposes a hybrid particle swarm optimization algorithm called SKHPSO to solve traveling salesman problem( TSP) by overcoming the premature convergence and low search efficiency of the standard particle swarm optimization algorithm( PSO). SKHPSO uses a similar Kruskal-based algorithm by which a specific means of implementation for Greedy Heuristic is given to get an initial feasible solution,as a member of the population in the PSO,then SKHPSO carries out the heuristic search with hybrid PSO algorithm combining the local search based on Lin-Kernighan local neighbor search operation and the global search,such as cross and replacement operations in single individual,which is used in genetic algorithm. The instances in the standard library,TSPLIB,are tested to verify our proposed algorithm. The results have shown that SKHPSO is effective to enhance the quality and efficiency of the solution.