cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Semiclassical Corrections to Kasner Cosmologies

We consider the Einstein equations for a Bianchi type I geometry, modified by first-order semiclassical quantum corrections. Using reduction techniques developed by Parker and Simon, we simplify these equations, obtaining reduced forms containing only first and second derivatives. We then find analytical solutions for both the vacuum case and for the case of a perfect fluid with a stiff equation of state. In the vacuum case we find that the Kasner solution maintains the same form in both the classical and semiclassical regimes. In the matter-filled case we observe, however, that a qualitatively different behavior emerges in the semiclassical era. We comment on the nature of these differences.
Towards understanding: a study of the SourceForge.net community using modeling and simulation

The Open Source Software (OSS) development movement is a classic example of a social network; also it is a prototype of a complex evolving network. In this research, we used a iterated method to generate models depicting the evolution of this network. Then, using Java/Swarm, we simulated in our model the evolution of the OSS developer and project network and calibrated the model using the two year empirical data we collected from SourceForge. In simulation, we implemented several different models to replicate the empirical data. From these simulation iterations we were able to verify and validate our model for this network and to increase our understanding of the OSS developer collaboration network. As a result, we generated a "fit" model which can replicate all measures we inspected in the empirical data set.
Symbiotic relationships of quality of life, health services research and other health research

Clinical biomedical research, the traditional research orientation of quality of life (QOL) researchers, is chiefly concerned with disease processes and assessing the impact of therapeutic interventions on improving health status and QOL outcomes. This paper suggests, however, that the biomedical paradigm limits utility of QOL research findings in terms of its ability to shape health policy and improve health-related QOL in populations at risk. This paper proposes that health services research (HSR) and other health research paradigms can be used to assess QOL from multiple perspectives. HSR and QOL research can be mutually beneficial. The models for understanding health services utilized in HSR may assist in defining major determinants of QOL and the interaction of QOL with its environment. Conversely, QOL measures may be used to establish the relevance of HSR to people's well-being. The paper first defines the domain of HSR and the domain of quality of life. In order to understand their relationship, we consider what a model or paradigm for each might be, and how they would overlap. Finally, a merging of conceptual frameworks is proposed, linking QOL research to HSR and other health research. Ultimately, expanding the QOL paradigm beyond the biomedical model will promote two objectives. First, it will permit research findings to contribute more fully to shaping national health policy by considering the broader community and the delivery system factors which influence QOL. Second, researchers will be more aware of a broader range of factors affecting patients and will incorporate this in their research.
The challenge of collective learning from event analysis

This paper examines the difficulties of learning from event analysis. The central idea is that learning represents a distinct set of team-or unit-level outcomes and processes that is different from valid analysis, effective problem-solving, or individual learning. In other words, event analysis cannot automatically generate group learning. For learning to occur, several conditions must be satisfied: Change in the team's or unit's repertoire of behaviors (the learning) must be a clear outcome of the event analysis; this learning must be shared by the team members (i.e., members must become aware of both the content of the learning as well as of the fact that other members are aware of this learning); the shared learning must be stored in repositories for future retrieval; the stored learning must be retrieved when the team subsequently encounters situations where the learning is relevant; and, finally, these processes of sharing, storing, and retrieving the learning must continue to occur over an extended period of time. These requirements pose major dilemmas or challenges for learning from event analysis. We discuss these challenges using examples from event analysis teams in two hospitals and in a computer emergency response center. We offer some potential strategies for addressing these challenges.
Foraging by forest ants under experimental climatic warming: a test at two sites

Climatic warming is altering the behavior of individuals and the composition of communities. However, recent studies have shown that the impact of warming on ectotherms varies geographically: species at warmer sites where environmental temperatures are closer to their upper critical thermal limits are more likely to be negatively impacted by warming than are species inhabiting relatively cooler sites. We used a large-scale experimental temperature manipulation to warm intact forest ant assemblages in the field and examine the impacts of chronic warming on foraging at a southern (North Carolina) and northern (Massachusetts) site in eastern North America. We examined the influence of temperature on the abundance and recruitment of foragers as well as the number of different species observed foraging. Finally, we examined the relationship between the mean temperature at which a species was found foraging and the critical thermal maximum temperature of that species, relating functional traits to behavior. We found that forager abundance and richness were related to the experimental increase in temperature at the southern site, but not the northern site. Additionally, individual species responded differently to temperature: some species foraged more under warmer conditions, whereas others foraged less. Importantly, these species-specific responses were related to functional traits of species (at least at the Duke Forest site). Species with higher critical thermal maxima had greater forager densities at higher temperatures than did species with lower critical thermal maxima. Our results indicate that while climatic warming may alter patterns of foraging activity in predictable ways, these shifts vary among species and between sites. More southerly sites and species with lower critical thermal maxima are likely to be at greater risk to ongoing climatic warming.
Automatic object recognition: critical issues and current approaches

Automatic object recognition, with its diverse applications in numerous fields of science and technology, is permeating many aspects of military and civilian industries. This paper gives an overview of the issues confronting the automatic object recognition field and the approaches being used to address these issues.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Delayed-onset cerebellar syndrome

Background: Delayed-onset involuntary movements, including dystonia and myoclonus, have been reported after stroke or head trauma. Moreover, there have been reports of delayed-onset isolated intention tremor and, in several of these cases, gait ataxia. Objective: To further define the clinical features of a delayed-onset cerebellar syndrome. Design: Subjects with cerebellar tremor and either head trauma or stroke were identified using a computerized database, providing detailed demographic and clinical information on 4002 patients with involuntary movements other than Parkinson's disease seen at our center between 1983 and 1995. Medical records and videotaped neurological examinations were retrospectively reviewed. Setting: The Center for Parkinson's Disease and Other Movement Disorders at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY. Patients: Five patients with delayed-onset cerebellar syndromes. Results: Five patients with stroke or head trauma developed a cerebellar syndrome 3 weeks to 2 years after the initial insult. The syndrome, characterized by intention tremor, ataxic dysarthria, nystagmus, dysmetria, dysdiadochokinesis, and gait ataxia, was progressive in at least one patient. In four patients, lesions were present on neuroimaging in the thalamus or brain stem (especially in the midbrain). Conclusions: A delayed-onset cerebellar syndrome may follow head trauma or stroke. The syndrome is sometimes progressive and often disabling. The delayed onset implies that the syndrome is not caused by the initial lesion itself but may be caused by the development of post-synaptic supersensitivity or secondary reorganization of involved pathways.
RECLAIMING THE M-WORD: THE LEGACY OF MISSIONS IN NONWESTERN SOCIETIES

Abstract Although missionaries are popularly associated with colonialism and blamed for antagonizing indigenous cultures, religious freedom and missionary activity have historically been synergistic. In addition, the effects of missionaries from the past twocenturies are still measurable in education, lower infant mortality, democracy, abolition of slavery, and social reform. Competition from diverse organizations that sprang up under conditions of religious freedom led to other positive social and legal developments.
Anglican parson, alleged sodomite, and loyalist perjurer: John Milner of colonial and revolutionary New York and Virginia

Abstract John Milner was a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), sponsored by the Church of England, in Westchester County, New York from 1761 to 1765, and rector of Newport, an Anglican parish in Virginia, from 1766 to 1770. Charges of attempted sodomy led to his resignation in each location. During the Revolution he lived in New York City, where he claimed to have been an outspoken Loyalist. In 1782 Milner, who never married, sailed to London. There British officials awarded him an allowance and a pension after he presented false petitions and perjured testimony. No integrated, comprehensive account of his life and career exists. He was not a celebrated minister but he served the Church of England, an important social and religious institution, in two colonies. He was also one of only a very few to deceive the claims commissioners, whose duty it was to look into the losses and services of loyalists and to recommend aid and compensation.
Age and intergroup differences in attitudes toward the teaching profession: How do teachers and students view themselves and each other?

Abstract Differences in attitudes toward the profession were determined among samples of teachers varying in CA and between teachers and students enrolled in teacher education programs. The students rated items reflecting “altruistic” and “pragmatic” needs met by teaching in terms of their importance in selecting teaching as a career and in terms of the way they perceived experienced teachers would rate them. The teachers rated the items in terms of their importance in their present teaching career and as they thought current students would rate them. The results indicated the absence of age differences in attitudes among the teacher samples. However both objective (self) and perceived intergroup differences in attitudes were found between the student and teacher samples. These results provide strong support for Neugarten's hypothesis that differences in the behavior and attitudes of adults reflect changes in social states rather than developmental differences and that the hypothesis can be generalized both to self and perceived intergroup differences in attitudes.
Repaired R/C members under cyclic loading

As a part of a general programme at the University of California, Berkeley, in the study of the seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete members, several of the severely cracked test specimens were repaired. The repair was made using either epoxy resin or concrete. In this paper a comparison of the performance of the original specimens with their performance after the repair is given. The repaired specimens were found to behave in a very satisfactory manner except where the injected epoxy had to restore a large region of destroyed bond between the concrete and the reinforcing steel. This condition was found to be particularly prevalent at the interior beam-column joints of moment-resisting frames. In such joints the bottom reinforcing steel of a beam tends to slip through a column due to the gradual bond degradation under cyclic loading. This is mainly caused by the formation of plastic hinges at the column faces. In order to avoid this condition, special details of reinforcement are suggested for controlling the location of plastic hinge formation.
Hepatoid carcinoma of the stomach

A patient with primary gastric carcinoma exhibiting hepatoid differentiation is described. The tumor itself was not associated with a high serum alpha-fetoprotein, but the cells stained positive for alpha-fetoprotein and alpha-1 antitrypsin. The patient underwent a total gastrectomy and wedge excision of the liver metastasis. The presence of metastatic hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the stomach should be considered in a patient who, during surgery for a primary gastric carcinoma, is found to have a liver metastasis that is diagnosed by frozen-section biopsy as a hepatoma. Because of lymph node and liver metastasis, prognosis appears to be poor for such patients.
Autonomy in nicaragua

Since the 1979 Revolution, Nicaragua's Sandinista government has been engaged in the reconstruction of political and administrative institutions throughout the country. Problems of administrative development have been especially acute along the Atlantic Coast, which has not only been geographically separate from the Pacific Coast, but ethnically and culturally distinct as well. U.S. intervention into the region since 1981 has intensified Sandinista efforts to accommodate indigenous demands for autonomy. The result has been the establishment of limited self-government involving a regional coordinator and council structure. Although many problems remain unresolved, the Nicaraguan experience offers a novel approach to a number of the policy and administrative issues involving indigenous minority populations within modern nation-states.
Genetic and biochemical characterization of phosphofructokinase from Drosophila melanogaster.

Phosphofructokinase (PFK; EC 2.7.1.11) activity in Drosophila melanogaster is controlled by a single dosage-sensitive region of the genome between 45F and 47E of chromosome IIR. Only a single form of PFK was detected electrophoretically in both adults and larvae. Nearly 90% of the PFK activity in adults is localized to the thorax. Purification of the enzyme was hampered by the extreme lability of Drosophila PFK; however, a 36-fold partial purification was achieved.
A built-in self-test method for diagnosis of synchronous sequential circuits

We propose an approach for built-in fault diagnosis of synchronous sequential circuits. The proposed approach distinguishes faults based on their detection by modified versions of a fault detection test sequence generated on-chip. The modified versions are defined by one-bit-wide auxiliary sequences, also generated on-chip. The auxiliary sequences indicate which test vectors of the fault detection test sequence need to be applied to the circuit. Experimental results presented indicate that the proposed on-chip test generation method is effective in achieving high levels of diagnostic-resolution.
Sociocultural contexts of learning among adults with disabilities

The sociocultural constructs of race, class, and gender combine with the effects of disability to create powerful influences on the educational and work history of adults with disabilities.
Characteristics of Bacteroides fragilis bacteriophages and comparison of their DNAs

Although fiveBacteroides fragilis bacteriophages isolated over a six-year period in Nebraska and Virginia had similar physical characteristics (morphology, temperature inactivation, and sensitivity to organic solvents and antisera), there were some statistically significant differences between the phages. In addition, restriction endonuclease analysis revealed that three of the five DNAs were not identical. However, the DNAs of the phages were closely related based on DNA-DNA hybridization, percent homologies, and possession of homologous regions of DNA. It appears that the five phages are strains of the same species of phage, although each phage has a unique host range spectrum.
Optical modeling activities for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project: I. The linear optical model

Initial optical modeling activities for the JWST project systems engineering team are presented. This paper discusses the development of the linear optical model, used primarily for integrated modeling and sensitivity studies. Various issues and assumptions are considered and preliminary results are presented.
Neurogenesis of motoneurons in the sexually dimorphic spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus in rats.

Abstract The spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) consists of motoneurons innervating striated perineal muscles in male rats1. The adult number of SNB motoneurons can be increased or decreased by perinatal manipulations with androgen or anti-androgen3,4. The present results with thymidine autoradiography demonstrate that SNB motoneurons undergo their final mitosis on the fourteenth day of gestation. Because testosterone production in male rats does not begin until after gestational day 145,14,17, androgens are unlikely to affect SNB neurogenesis in normal males. By extension, hormonal manipulations more than a week later, which affect the number of SNB cells, are probably mediated by alterations in the death or specification of cells, but not their proliferation.
Electron impact ionization mass spectra of lithocholyl amides: evidence for a C(20) to C(23) rearrangement involving the loss of a C4H9 fragment

Amides of lithocholic acid (3α-hydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid) with 6-aminocaproic acid and 4-aminobutyric acid were prepared and examined by electron impact ionization mass spectrometry. Both these compounds gave an unusual [M − 57]+ fragment. Since the product-ion analysis of [M − 57]+ revealed the presence of fragments corresponding to the intact steroid nucleus in addition to that of the original amino acid (6-aminocaproic acid or 4-aminobutyric acid), we concluded that the integrity of the steroid amide had been retained in this fragment. The absence of this fragment from the product-ion spectrum of [M − CH3]+ rules out the sequential loss from the molecular ion of 15 + 42 u as the origin of this signal. Mass spectrometry of the 24-13C-labelled lithocholylcaproylamide showed the retention of the label in the [M − 57]+ fragment. In contrast, the corresponding compound labelled with deuterium at C(23) showed a significant loss of the label during the formation of this product ion at [M − 58]+. In addition, through a combination of derivatization and tandem mass spectrometry, it was demonstrated that this loss of 57 u represented a rearrangement with the expulsion of a C4H9 radical from the side-chain spanning C(20) to C(23) resulting in a truncated steroid-amide fragment. This fragmentation pattern has not been observed in bile acid conjugates with N-α-amino acids.
A novel approach with magnetic resonance imaging used for the detection of lung allograft rejection.

Abstract Objective: Although various techniques have been explored for the detection and quantification of allograft transplant rejection, a practical and reliable method that is noninvasive is still elusive. Methods: For our magnetic resonance imaging experiments, we have developed a new rat model of heterotopic lung transplantation to the inguinal region. Allogeneic transplants (DA to Brown Norway) were performed with and without cyclosporine A (INN: ciclosporin) treatment, with syngeneic transplants (Brown Norway to Brown Norway) serving as controls (n = 6 per group). Magnetic resonance images were obtained with a gradient echo method before and after injection of ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide particles. Results: At day 5, allogeneic transplants without cyclosporine A treatment showed a grade 4 rejection histologically. A significantly lower magnetic resonance signal was seen 24 hours after injection of ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide particles compared with the preinjection image (346 ± 7.6 vs 839 ± 43.4 arbitrary units; P P Conclusions: We have demonstrated a novel approach for the detection of acute lung allograft rejection using magnetic resonance imaging coupled with injection of ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide particles. Despite its limitations, our method might be a first step toward a potential clinical application. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000;120:923-34)
Cluster model for compaction of vibrated granular materials

In this paper we present a one-dimensional model describing properties of compaction observed in recent experiments with vibrated granular materials. In this model, a granular material undergoing vertical vibrations is considered as a system of randomly packed clusters. Each cluster in the system is supposed to be hexagonally packed to the maximum possible density, and porosity of material arises from random packing of the clusters. Vibrations cause fragmentation of clusters through separation of individual particles from a cluster, and reassociation of the individual particles with surrounding clusters. This model successfully describes experimental results on the dynamics of granular compaction, reversible and irreversible behavior, dependence of the steady-state density on the magnitude of external vibrations, and predicts the crystallization of the material for a small magnitude of vibrations. It also connects microscopic properties of granular media with the experimental data on density fluctuations, such as temporal behavior, amplitude, and spectral properties of the fluctuations. In combination with experiment, this model can be instrumental in extracting constants of the mechanism and rate of cluster fragmentation, clusters arrangement in the media, and voids distribution. The importance and effectiveness of the cluster approach are discussed as the key points of the model.
Pepsin and pepsinogen: models for carboxyl (acid) proteases and their zymogens

We now know the structures of pepsin and pepsinogen and some of the ways they do their work. This information can be used in the research of other carboxyl (acid) proteases present in many biological systems.
[3H]ketanserin binding increases in monkey cortex following basal forebrain lesions with ibotenic acid

Abstract The present study investigated the effects of damage to the basal forebrain cholinergic system upon [ 3 H]ketanserin binding in the neocortex and hippocampus of monkeys. [ 3 H]Ketanserin specifically binds to serotonin type-2 receptor sites. Lesions were placed in the medial septal area, nucleus basalis, or both regions. Ten months later, [ 3 H]ketanserin binding was increased in the neocortex, but not in the hippocampus, while levels of choline acetyltransferase (acetyl-CoA: choline O -acetyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.6) activity decreased in the neocortex and hippocampus. Changes in the levels of choline acetyltransferase and [ 3 H]ketanserin binding were correlated significantly in the neocortex ( r = −0.64, P
Fourier Path Integral Methods: A Model Study of Simple Fluids

As illustrated by the diverse range of problems considered in the present volume, Monte Carlo based path-integral methods have widespread use in condensed-phase, many-body studies. The present note considers their use for the study of simple quantum fluids. In particular, we consider a model of a Lennard-Jones fluid for the purpose of examining the numerical convergence characteristics of a number of different path-integral approaches. The system chosen is liquid helium, which has been studied in detail by Pollock and Ceperley./1) As a primitive model of the numerical characteristics of this fluid we consider a one-dimensional "cage" of two fixed helium atoms separated by a distance of twice the reciprocal of the cube root of the fluid density. A third and movable helium atom is located within this cage and interacts with the other two atoms via a two-term Gaussian fit ~2) to the helium Lennar~l-Jones potential (a = 2.556 ~, e = 10.22K). Using various path-integral methods described below, we then compute the free energy of this model system for various temperatures :and note the relative convergence rates of the different methods. Table I lists the free energy of our model system computed at two temperatures for a density of pa3=0.365. The free energies were computed using the "primitive" discretized method which iterates first-order estimates of the "short-time" density matrix. ~3) The Trotter index, P, corresponds to the number of subintervals into which the interval (0,/~h) is divided. The
Radioprotection of cellular chromatin by the polyamines spermine and putrescine : Preferential action against formation of DNA-protein crosslinks

Spermine is an efficient radioprotector of plasmid or viral DNA and of viral minichromosomes by a mechanism involving radical scavenging and the induction of compaction and aggregation of DNA. Based on radioprotection of SV40 minichromosomes at a lower spermine concentration than needed for SV40 DNA, Newton et al. (Radiat. Res. 145, 776-780, 1996) proposed that the differential concentration dependence could account for the greater radiosensitivity of open regions of cellular chromatin compared to bulk inactive chromatin at physiological levels of spermine. However, we recently reported that, whereas the effects of spermine on the formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in dehistonized V79 cell DNA (nucleoids) were consistent with spermine-induced DNA compaction, spermine provided no radioprotection of native chromatin and only modest radioprotection of histone H1-depleted chromatin (Chiu and Oleinick, Radiat. Res. 148, 188-192, 1997). To further characterize the radioprotection of cellular chromatin by spermine, radiation-induced DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) were investigated, because of evidence that these lesions occur preferentially at or near the sites of anchorage of chromosomes to the nuclear matrix. In contrast to the relatively inefficient radioprotection of V79 cell chromatin against the formation of DSBs, low concentrations (<0.1 mM) of spermine or putrescine provided partial radioprotection against the formation of DPCs in both native and H1-depleted chromatin. Whereas all DPCs generated by the irradiation of chromatin, above the level generated in intact cells, could be blocked by 5 mM spermine, less than half could be blocked by 5 mM putrescine. The difference in efficiency of radioprotection of native chromatin by the two polyamines can be accounted for by assuming that the binding of spermine is 10 times as efficient as the binding of putrescine. The results suggest that (a) both spermine and putrescine bind preferentially and with high affinity at matrix-associated sites of formation of DPCs, disrupting the associations between DNA and protein that are essential for formation of DPCs and/or scavenging hydroxyl radicals at these sites; (b) a smaller fraction of the sites are susceptible to putrescine than to spermine; and (c) endogenous spermine is a major radioprotector of cells against the formation of DPCs, either because of specific features of the lesion or because of the site of lesion formation at the nuclear matrix.
On the supposed limits of physicalist theories of mind

Is physicalism compatible with either panpsychism or so-called “fundamental mentality”? Minimal physicalism, I contend, is compatible with both. We should therefore jettison the “No Fundamental Mentality” constraint, a proposed constraint on the definition of “the physical”, not to mention the false limits it places on physicalist theories of mind.
Circumventing Heterozygosity: Sequencing the Amplified Genome of a Single Haploid Drosophila melanogaster Embryo

Heterozygosity is a major challenge to efficient, high-quality genomic assembly and to the full genomic survey of polymorphism and divergence. In Drosophila melanogaster lines derived from equatorial populations are particularly resistant to inbreeding, thus imposing a major barrier to the determination and analyses of genomic variation in natural populations of this model organism. Here we present a simple genome sequencing protocol based on the whole-genome amplification of the gynogenetically derived haploid genome of a progeny of females mated to males homozygous for the recessive male sterile mutation, ms(3)K81. A single “lane” of paired-end sequences (2 × 76 bp) provides a good syntenic assembly with >95% high-quality coverage (more than five reads). The amplification of the genomic DNA moderately inflates the variation in coverage across the euchromatic portion of the genome. It also increases the frequency of chimeric clones. But the low frequency and random genomic distribution of the chimeric clones limits their impact on the final assemblies. This method provides a solid path forward for population genomic sequencing and offers applications to many other systems in which small amounts of genomic DNA have unique experimental relevance.
The Dark Matter of the Bibliome.

Physicists seem to spend a lot of time discussing ‘darkmatter’. What is dark matter? Dark matter has numerous definitions, such as BDark matter is a hypothesized form of matter particle that does not reflect or emit electromagnetic radiation. The existence of dark matter is inferred from gravitational effects on visible matter, such as stars and galaxies.^ There are many reasons dark matter consumes this much attention. A significant fraction of the total mass of the universe may be dark, and the forces it exerts have potentially monumental influences in the overall behavior of the universe. Much closer to home, however, in our neuroscience universe, we too are surrounded by ‘dark matter’. Neuroscience dark matter can be thought of as the content of the scientific publication that cannot be searched by typical search engines or human readers. It is dark in the sense that, if it cannot be easily found, it must only be inferred to exist. Surprisingly, there is a vast amount of neuroscientific darkmatter. Our usual search engines, such as PUBMED, search over only the MEDLINE indexed parts of a publication (author, abstract, keywords, etc.), but not any of the elements of the full text of an article. Google Scholar searches deeper into the text of publications, but the basic building blocks of the neuroscientific observation are still hidden to these searches. This is because most of these elemental observations are embedded into the figures and tables (as well as sometimes idiosyncratic free text) that defy simple decoding. Neuroscience dark matter is ‘dark’ because it lacks an a priori specification for the information content structure. MEDLINE provides a clear structure for how article content is expressed. Publications, as a whole, have an accepted ‘standard’ for how articles are structured (methods, results, discussion, etc.). Free text is even bound by the grammatical and syntactic constructs of the language that aid in the decoding of textual passages. More often than not, however, there is no standardized information specification that accompanies the figures and tables of an article. Captions and headings and embedded text (as well as substantial domain knowledge) are what make the intrinsic content of these objects intuitive to the human reader, but dark to the computerized search. Hence the key to accessing this information is very domain specific, and the breadth of domains covered in neuroscience is expansive. Numerous efforts exist that attempt to enlighten these dark parts of the published literature. These efforts typically are highly domain specific, and linked with a databasing effort designed to capture a specific set of observation instances. Most often, these efforts require human expert curation and operate in the post-publication (pdf or html) interpretation of the published literature. In the neuroimaging domain, BrainMap Database and SuMSDB capture ‘activation’ foci from publications of voxel-based analysis of structure or function in humans. The Internet Brain Volume Database (IBVD) captures reports of neuroanatomic structural volumetric
CovR Activation of the Dipeptide Permease Promoter (PdppA) in Group A Streptococcus

CovR, the two-component response regulator of Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus [GAS]) directly or indirectly represses about 15% of the genome, including genes encoding many virulence factors and itself. Transcriptome analyses also showed that some genes are activated by CovR. We asked whether the regulation by CovR of one of these genes, dppA, the first gene in an operon encoding a dipeptide permease, is direct or indirect. Direct regulation by CovR was suggested by the presence of five CovR consensus binding sequences (CBs) near the putative promoter. In this study, we identified the 5′ end of the dppA transcript synthesized in vivo and showed that the start of dppA transcription in vitro is the same. We found that CovR binds specifically to the dppA promoter region (PdppA) in vitro with an affinity similar to that at which it binds to other CovR-regulated promoters. Disruption of any of the five CBs by a substitution of GG for TT inhibited CovR binding to that site in vitro, and binding at two of the CBs appeared cooperative. In vivo, CovR activation of transcription was not affected by individual mutations of any of the four CBs that we could study. This suggests that the binding sites are redundant in vivo. In vitro, CovR did not activate transcription from PdppA in experiments using purified GAS RNA polymerase and either linear or supercoiled DNA template. Therefore, we propose that in vivo, CovR may interfere with the binding of a repressor of PdppA.
An analytic Lifshitz black hole

A Lifshitz point is described by a quantum field theory with anisotropic scale invariance (but not Galilean invariance). In [8], gravity duals were conjectured for such theories. We construct analytically a black hole that asymptotes to a vacuum Lifshitz solution; this black hole solves the equations of motion of some simple (but somewhat strange) extensions of the models of [8]. We study its thermodynamics and scalar response functions. The scalar wave equation turns out to be exactly solvable. Interestingly, the Green's functions do not exhibit the ultralocal behavior seen previously in the free Lifshitz scalar theory.
Physiological impacts of elevated carbon dioxide and ocean acidification on fish

Most fish studied to date efficiently compensate for a hypercapnic acid-base disturbance; however, many recent studies examining the effects of ocean acidification on fish have documented impacts a...
Magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy of membrane proteins.

The passage of molecules and information across cell membranes is mediated largely by membrane-spanning proteins acting as channels, pumps, receptors and enzymes. These proteins perform many tasks: they control electrochemical gradients across the membrane, receive signals from the environment or from other cells, convert light energy into chemical signals, transport small molecules into and out of cells, and harness proton gradients to generate the energy consumed in metabolism. Indeed, of the estimated 50000–100000 genes in the human genome, fully 20–40 % are thought to encode integral membrane proteins. If one also includes membrane-associated proteins, which are attached to the membrane surface through fatty acyl chains or electrostatic interactions, this percentage is likely to be much higher.
Comparison of GDF5 and GDNF as neuroprotective factors for postnatal dopamine neurons in ventral mesencephalic cultures.

Loss of dopamine neurons is associated with the motor deficits that occur in Parkinson's disease. Although many drugs have proven to be useful in the treatment of the symptoms of this disease, none has been shown to have a significant impact on the development of the disease. However, we believe that several neurotrophic factors have the potential to reduce its progression. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily of neurotrophic factors, has been extensively studied in this regard. Less attention has been paid to growth/differentiation factor 5 (GDF5), another member of the same superfamily. This study compares GDNF and GDF5 in dissociated cultures prepared from ventral mesencephalon and in organotypic co-cultures containing substantia nigra, striatum, and neocortex. We report that both GDNF (10–500 ng/ml) and GDF5 (100–500 ng/ml) promoted the survival of dopamine neurons from the substantia nigra of postnatal rats, although GDNF was considerably more potent than GDF5. In contrast, neither factor had any significant effect on the survival of dopamine neurons from the rat ventral tegmental area. Using organotypic co-cultures, we also compared GDF5 with GDNF as chemoattractants for the innervation of the striatum and the neocortex by dopamine neurons from the substantia nigra. The addition of either GDF5 or GDNF (100–500 ng/ml) caused innervation by dopamine neurons into the cortex as well as the striatum, which did not occur in untreated cultures. Our results are consistent with similar findings suggesting that GDF5, like GDNF, deserves attention as a possible therapeutic intervention for Parkinson's disease. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Central Nervous System Pathology Caused by Autoreactive CD8+ T-Cell Clones following Virus Infection

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) causes a demyelinating disease in infected mice which has similarities to multiple sclerosis. Spleen cells from TMEV-infected SJL/J mice stimulated with antigen-presenting cells infected with TMEV resulted in a population of autoreactive CD8+ cytotoxic T cells that kill uninfected syngeneic cells. We established CD8+ T cell clones that could kill both TMEV-infected and uninfected syngeneic targets, although infected target cells were killed more efficiently. The CD8+ T-cell clones produced gamma interferon when incubated with either infected or uninfected syngeneic target cells. Intracerebral injection of the clones into naive mice induced degeneration, not only in the brain, but also in the spinal cord. This suggests that CD8+ Tc1 cells could play a pathogenic role in central nervous system inflammation.
Selective targeting of T cell subsets: focus on alefacept - a remittive therapy for psoriasis.

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease in which memory-effector (CD45RO+), skin-homing T cells play a key role in driving the disease process. Available therapies are often poorly tolerated, none are curative and most only suppress disease symptoms without attacking the underlying cause of the illness. Alefacept (Amevive®, Biogen, Inc.) is a fully human lymphocyte function associated antigen-3/immunoglobulin G1 fusion protein that targets memory-effector T cells by binding CD2 on the T cell and Fcγ receptor III IgG receptors on accessory cells, thereby preventing T cell activation and proliferation and causing selective T cell apoptosis. To date, alefacept has been studied in moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis and in a pilot study of psoriatic arthritis. In chronic plaque psoriasis, alefacept produced significant and sustained improvements in psoriasis symptoms. There was no evidence of disease rebound or worsening of psoriasis following treatment cessation. Multiple courses provided consistent ...
Keep Her under Control: Law's Patriarchy in India

Keep Her under Control: Law's Patriarchy in India. 52 minutes, color. film by Erin Moore. For more information, contact University of California Extension Center for Media and Independent Learning, 2000 Center Street, Fourth Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704. ”
Pathways of soil genesis in the Coast Range of Oregon, USA

Soil chronosequences on marine terraces along the Pacific Coast of California and Oregon show evidence of podzolization, though soils ultimately evolve to Ultisols. It is not clear if this pathway of soil evolution can be extended to the humid, inland Oregon Coast Range. We analyzed soil properties for a fluvial terrace chronosequence sampled along the Siuslaw River (Oregon, USA) about 50 km from the Pacific coast. The seven terraces ranged in age from <3.5 ky to nearly 1,000 ky. There was no evidence of early podsolization. Instead, evidence was found that andisolization starts early and occurs even in older soils when pedogenic iron accumulation and clay synthesis and illuviation dominate. Soils develop the morphology characteristic of Ultisols sometime between 20 and 70 ky, but high levels of oxalate extractable iron and aluminum satisfy criteria of an andic subgroup. Alfisols are not formed as an intermediary stage. The lack of Spodosols inland is due to the inland shift from udic to ustic or xeric moisture regime, which favors summer drying and ripening of short-range order minerals rather than deep leaching or translocation. Other factors are higher pH, different organic chemistry and faster calcium cycling under the Douglas fir inland when compared to the Sitka spruce of the coastal terraces.
Is our Universe natural

It goes without saying that we are stuck with the Universe we have. Nevertheless, we would like to go beyond simply describing our observed Universe, and try to understand why it is that way rather than some other way. When considering both the state in which we find our current Universe, and the laws of physics it obeys, we discover features that seem remarkably unnatural to us. Physicists and cosmologists have been exploring increasingly ambitious ideas in an attempt to explain how surprising aspects of our Universe can arise from simple dynamical principles.
The Effect of Saliva on Plaque pH in vivo

The effect of saliva on plaque acidogenesis was studied in ten caries-resistant and ten caries-susceptible subjects. Plaque pH was measured in vivo following exposure to a sucrose substrate under varying conditions of salivary access. Our findings demonstrate that when there is no salivary access, plaque pH levels are similar in the CR and CS groups. As the access to saliva is increased, the observed pH minima increased to a greater degree in the CR subjects than was noted in the CS subjects. This indicates that saliva (notably stimulated saliva) plays a major role in modifying plaque pH and quantitatively reflects caries status.
Phase lag in the high-frequency response of thin-film recording heads

The phase lag introduced by a head in the writing process was measured with a scanning Kerr effect microscope. The phase lag of thin-film heads increases rapidly with frequency even below 30 MHz. A 20 degrees phase lag at about 20 MHz was observed on both an IBM 3380 eight-turn and a 3390 31-turn head. By studying the phase lag caused by different damping mechanisms in the magnetization processes, it was concluded that the rapid increase in phase lag below 20 MHz is primarily caused by the damping of domain wall motion in the sloped region. Different designs of the sloped region of the heads were shown to cause large differences on the phase lag. The effect of drive current amplitude on the phase lag was studied both experimentally and theoretically. The results indicate that, when eddy current damping dominates and the surface of a magnetic film is driven to saturation, a larger phase lag occurs when larger drive field is applied. >
Theories behind existing scales for rating behavior in dementia.

Clinical scientists developing rating scales to assess the behavior of patients with dementia have adopted a variety of evaluation strategies. Scales differ according to the source of information (e.g., caregiver versus patient), type of behavior assessed (e.g., mood, agitation, or delusions), origin of the scale (i.e., imported from psychiatry, adapted from psychiatric scales, adapted from scales for neurologic conditions, or developed specifically for dementia), and anticipated application of the tool (e.g., behavioral characterization, longitudinal follow-up, or differential diagnosis). Investigators have rarely articulated the theoretic framework on which their scales are based, and in most cases, theories were eschewed in favor of empirically based assessments of observed behaviors. Theoretic assumptions, however, can be inferred from the structure of the scales.
Matrix-derived inflammatory mediator N-acetyl proline-glycine-proline is neurotoxic and upregulated in brain after ischemic stroke

Background N-acetyl proline-glycine-proline (ac-PGP) is a matrix-derived chemokine produced through the proteolytic destruction of collagen by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). While upregulation and activation of MMPs and concomitant degradation of the extracellular matrix are known to be associated with neurological injury in ischemic stroke, the production of ac-PGP in stroke brain and its effects on neurons have not been investigated.
The interaction of amyloid-beta with ApoE.

Brain plaque deposition in the form of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide is a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is thought to be involved in plaque formation. Individuals afflicted with AD carrying the ApoE4 isoform have shown a greater number of Aβ plaques when compared to ApoE3 carriers, and inheritance of an ApoE4 allele increases the risk of AD when compared to ApoE2 and ApoE3 carriers. The role of ApoE in the pathogenesis of AD is not well understood but a hypothesis gaining widespread support is that ApoE is involved in deposition or clearance of Aβ by direct protein-to-protein interaction. We have established that various human Aβ conformations apparent during spontaneous aggregation confer differing degrees of binding to the three ApoE isoforms. When associated with lipid, ApoE4 bound preferentially to an intermediate aggregated form of Aβ and had higher avidity than did ApoE2 or ApoE3.
Desperate Magic: The Moral Economy of Witchcraft in Seventeenth-Century Russia. By Valerie Kivelson. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2013. Pp. xx, 349. $79.95.)

Full of material that illuminates fascinating corners and major issues in late‐Muscovite Russia, the author's latest book is the definitive source for information on witchcraft and witch trials in ...
The Appropriate Blood Pressure Control in Diabetes (ABCD) Trial.

This may have resulted inadditional cardiovascular events when patients,frightened by the news, stopped taking their anti-hypertensive agents.A close examination of clinical studies with CCAsdemonstrates the following:(1) The majority of clinical studies with theseagents focus on surrogate markers of cardio-vascular disease such as blood pressurereduction, regression of left ventricularhypertrophy or reduction in proteinuria.(2) Studies that examined changes in proteinuriademonstrate consistent differences betweendihydropyridine CCAs (amlodipine-like agents)and non-dihydropyridine CCAs (verapamil,diltiazem). Speciﬁcally, dihydropyridine CCAsdo not reduce proteinuria when examined instudies of >2 years duration.
A confirmatory factor analysis of the Spiritual Transcendence Index: assessing spirituality in a sample of Latino college students

ABSTRACTResearch has documented that spirituality is an essential component of health and mental health. Therefore, it is important to carefully examine the psychometric properties of instruments used to operationalise this construct. This study examined the validity and reliability of the Spiritual Transcendence Index (STI) among Latino college students. The sample involved 593 Latino college students who filled out a battery of questionnaires. Results supported the validity and reliability of the two factors of spirituality: spiritual beliefs and believing in God's presence. Additional research is needed to examine spirituality within Latino subgroups due to the heterogeneity of this population.