cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of visceral pain by electrical stimulation of the periaqueductal gray matter.

Abstract Numerous recent studies have demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the periaqueductal gray matter (PGM) can result in powerful analgesia to pain of somatic origin. In the present study, we have developed a visceral pain test employing intraperitoneal injection of hypertonic saline which yields a writhing response in the adult rat more reliably than other painproducing substances. With this test we show that writhing as well as the response to radiant heat (tail flick test) are completely inhibited in all animals with PGM electrode placements.
Static extraction and conformance checking of the runtime architecture of object-oriented systems

We propose a semi-automated approach to statically extract a runtime architecture of an object-oriented system using ownership domain annotations and check its structural conformance with an as-designed architecture. In contrast, previous work used dynamic analyses that cover some but not all possible executions, or used radical language extensions or implementation restrictions. The approach also extracts an architecture that is hierarchical and sound, i.e., one that accounts for all objects and relations that could possibly exist at runtime.
Membrane organization in mouse spermatozoa revealed by freeze-etching

Freeze-cleavage and deep-etching have been used to examine the ultrastructural organization of mouse spermatozoon membranes. Within the cleaved plasma membrane, particles are distributed randomly in the head and aggregated in the tail, forming paracrystalline arrays in the middle piece. Cleavage faces of the acrosomal membranes are characterized by a regular arrangement of tightly packed particles, as well as other types of particles. Large particles are concentrated over the thickened apical portion of the acrosome and within the nuclear envelope directly beneath the acrosome. The organization of particles within the nuclear envelope at the junction with the redundant nuclear envelope and at the head-tail junction suggests a functional role for these particles in membrane attachment. The external surface of the plasma membrane of the tail possesses circumferentially oriented strands in the middle piece, and larger longitudinally oriented “zippers” in the principal piece. The function of these elaborations is unclear.
Linkage Isomerization as a Mechanism for Photochromic Materials: Cyclopentadienylmanganese Tricarbonyl Derivatives with Chelatable Functional Groups

Two, bifunctional side-chain cyclopentadienylmanganese tricarbonyl complexes, 7 (pyridine and ketone side chain) and 14 (thioamide and pyridine side chain), were prepared and converted to chelates following CO dissociation by UV irradiation. Both pyridine (8) and carbonyl (9) chelates are observed following irradiation of 7. In contrast, only thioamide chelate (16) is observed following irradiation of 14 even though a pyridine group was available. Visible irradiation isomerizes the pyridine chelate 8 to the carbonyl chelate 9, which thermally isomerizes back to 8 at 25 °C in a few minutes, demonstrating a photochromic response from a cyclopentadienyl-manganese complex based on a linkage isomerization of a tethered functional group. DFT calculations predicted that the activation enthalpy of thermal linkage isomerization would be 20.8 kcal/mol and that the mechanism is likely an associative process that does not involve a simple dissociation of the manganese bond to the side-chain ketone. The DFT calculatio...
Ocean outfall plume characterization using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.

A monitoring mission to map and characterize the Point Loma Ocean Outfall (PLOO) wastewater plume using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) was performed on 3 March 2011. The mobility of an AUV provides a significant advantage in surveying discharge plumes over traditional cast-based methods, and when combined with optical and oceanographic sensors, provides a capability for both detecting plumes and assessing their mixing in the near and far-fields. Unique to this study is the measurement of Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) in the discharge plume and its application for quantitative estimates of the plume9s dilution. AUV mission planning methodologies for discharge plume sampling, plume characterization using onboard optical sensors, and comparison of observational data to model results are presented. The results suggest that even under variable oceanic conditions, properly planned missions for AUVs equipped with an optical CDOM sensor in addition to traditional oceanographic sensors, can accurately characterize and track ocean outfall plumes at higher resolutions than cast-based techniques.
Influence of Gold Plating of Stainless Steel Pins on the Tensile Strength of Dental Amalgam

Neither gold plating of stainless steel pins nor mercury wetting of gold-plated stainless steel pins caused an increase in tensile strength of amalgam that was significantly higher than that caused by plain stainless steel pins in amalgam.
Digital fiber optic delay line memory

Characteristics of digital synchronous delay-line memories that use pulse stretching to compensate for phase variations are presented. When optical fiber is used as the delay medium, the choice of carrier wavelength determines which mechanism (thermal variation or dispersion) limits the maximum memory size. If implemented at the dispersion-minimum wavelength of 1310 nm using a laser with lmewidth 1.55 nm and 50% duty cycle, a memory could store up to 22 million bits before dispersion dominates, but such a system would require thermal stabilization to within 0.002C. A digital fiberoptic delay line memory will be built for a bit-serial optical computer, where each switching element is a lithium niobate directional coupler having an electro-optic control terminal. Non-idealities in this type of switch, such as attenuation, crosstalk, and polarization losses, will have negligible effects on the memory. Intermittent regeneration errors at the electrooptic boundary will also be minor. For a bit modulation frequency of 100 MHz, a single-line 2000-bit memory can be reliably implemented without thermal compensation for a lab variation of A memory system incorporating L delay lines would reduce both the average access time and the thermal sensitivity of the system by a factor of L. The number of additional switches required by such a memory is roughly 5L in a system accounting for regeneration needs.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Design of InGaN/GaN/AlGaN vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers using electrical-thermal-optical simulation

Three-dimensional electric-thermal-optical numerical simulator is developed and applied to model group-III-nitride-based intracavity-contacted vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with InGaN multi-quantum-well active region. The optical model based on the effective frequency method is combined with electrical-thermal simulator using the control volume method. Isothermal (pulsed regime imitation) and CW modes of operation are calculated over a range of voltages, covering sub-threshold spontaneous emission and lasing emission. Effects of current crowding at the active-region periphery are examined, and in particular an impact on mode profiles of spatial hole burning superimposed on nonuniform gain distribution is studied. In order to reduce the current crowding and provide more uniform gain distribution within the active region, a semitransparent p-side contact design is proposed.
My End of the Bargain Are There Cross-District Effects in Teacher Contract Provisions?

A large literature on teacher collective bargaining describes the potential influence of the provisions in collectively bargained teacher union contracts on teachers and student achievement, but li...
Agouti Alleles Influence Thiol Concentrations in Hair Follicles and Extrafollicular Tissues of Mice (Ay/a, AwJ/AwJ, a/a)

Agouti protein (AP) expression in the wild-type agouti mouse (AwJ/AwJ) coincides with a switch in hair follicle melanogenesis from black (eumelanin) to yellow (pheomelanin). Ectopic overexpression of AP in the lethal yellow (Ay/a) mouse cause a pure yellow coat and the lethal yellow syndrome. Thiol concentrations may control the conversion of dopaquinone to pheomelanin in hair follicle melanocytes. Glutathione (GSH) also plays important roles in cellular health and protection. Using HPLC, cysteine and GSH were measured in 1) hair follicles, liver and serum of Ay/a, AwJ/AwJ, and a/a (black) mice, and 2) adipose and spleen tissues of Ay/a and a/a mice on day 9 of regenerating hair growth (late pheomelanin phase). Agouti locus alleles influence thiol metabolism in hair follicles and in other systemic tissues. Ay/a hair follicles and serum showed highest cysteine and lowest GSH levels. AwJ/AwJ mice showed intermediate levels, while a/a hair follicles and serum had lowest cysteine and highest GSH concentrations. In the hair follicle, cysteine (likely derived from enzymatic degradation of GSH) appears to be the primary pheomelanogenic thiol. Agouti locus alleles may also directly or indirectly affect thiol concentrations in systemic tissues like liver and spleen. Cysteine in spleen extracts showed Ay/a > a/a (P < 0.01). An Ay-induced imbalance of thiol metabolism (altering GSH concentrations in multiple tissues) may contribute to the pleiotropic defects of the lethal yellow syndrome.
Preconditioning exposures to the CS: Variation in place of testing

One of three groups (Group 1) was given nine 30-sec preconditioning CS (PCS) exposures while bar pressing for food. Half of the remaining groups got the PCS treatment in holding cages. Group 1 and Group 2 then received 12 CS-US pairings elsewhere. Group 3 was given the US only. Group 2 suppressed bar pressing to the CS during testing more than Groups 1 (p <.02) or 3 (p <.01) although the PCS-treated half of Group 2 was somewhat less suppressed than the non-PCS half. Group 1 showed more suppression than the other two when all subsequently were tested for running to the CS in an alleyway.
A highly sensitive mass spectrometer detector system

Abstract A mass spectrometer detector system has been constructed and tested to measure up to 70 masses simultaneously. The detector increases substantially the sensitivity of the instrument for the analysis of trace gases. The system consists of a microchannel plate multiplier and a phosphor layer on a fiber optics bundle mounted in a Mattauch-Herzog mass spectrometer. A photodiode array and counting electronics record individual ion events. Each mass peak can be independently measured at count rates ranging from 1000 counts s −1 to much less than 1 count min −1 . Gases with mixing ratios of less than 1×10 −9 have been measured directly in air samples. The mass spectrometer and detector have performed well in two balloon flights to sample stratospheric air. Other applications include residual gas analysis, gas purity analysis, and pyrolysis of solid samples. Such a detector could be employed in a mass spectrometer with continuous photoionization.
Partial purification of American cockroach enzymes degrading certain organophosphate insecticides

Abstract An attempt was made to partially purify the cockroach enzymes which degrade insecticidal organophosphate esters and to correlate such enzymes to previously reported electrophoresis patterns of zymograms by several workers. To isolate the esterases, techniques of differential heat-deactivation, ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-cellulose column chromatography and the difference in esterase localization within the cockroach body were used. After each purification attempt the resulting fractions were examined for their enzyme compositions by using a disc-electrophoresis method with 1-naphthyl acetate as a detecting agent. As a result of such testings a scheme to separate each esterase fraction represented by bands E 1 , E 2 , E 3 , E 7 , E 9, 10 or E 11, 12 from others was devised. The enzyme fractions thus separated were assayed for degradation activities for various organophosphate insecticides. The enzyme activity patterns showed sufficient differences in their substrate preference in addition to their response to added ions and cofactors among fractions.
Phorbol diester synergistically stimulates agonist-induced lipoxygenase product formation in murine macrophages

Murine peritoneal macrophages were preincubated with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (100 ng/ml) and then exposed to various concentrations of calcium ionophore A23187. This combined treatment resulted in an elevated release of arachidonic acid metabolites that was synergistic in nature. Resolution of the [3H]products released into the medium revealed that a) the effect on the cyclooxygenase products 6-keto PGF1 and PGE2 were additive to less than additive (A23187 concentration dependent), b) the production of lipoxygenase products was synergistically enhanced, and c) the largest effect was on 12-HETE production.
Interaction Between Cigarette Smoking and Clinical Benefit of Clopidogrel

Objectives The aim of this study was to examine the interaction between cigarette smoking and the clinical efficacy of clopidogrel in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Background Cigarette smoking induces cytochrome P450 (CYP)1A2, which converts clopidogrel into its active metabolite, and prior studies suggest greater inhibition of platelet aggregation by clopidogrel in smokers of ≥10 cigarettes/day. Methods The effect of clopidogrel compared with placebo on angiographic and clinical outcomes was examined in 3,429 STEMI patients in the CLARITY–TIMI 28 (Clopidogrel as Adjunctive Reperfusion Therapy–Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction 28) randomized trial stratified by smoking intensity as follows: not current smokers (n = 1,732), and smokers of 1 to 9 (n = 206), 10 to 19 (n = 354), 20 to 29 (n = 715), and ≥30 cigarettes/day (n = 422). Logistic regression was used to adjust for other baseline characteristics and interaction terms to test for effect modification. Results Although clopidogrel reduced the rate of the primary end point of a closed infarct-related artery or death/myocardial infarction before angiography in the CLARITY-TIMI 28 trial, the benefit was especially marked among those who smoked ≥10 cigarettes/day (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.49, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.37 to 0.66; p Conclusions Cigarette smoking seems to positively modify the beneficial effect of clopidogrel on angiographic and clinical outcomes. This study demonstrates that common clinical factors that influence the metabolism of clopidogrel might impact its clinical effectiveness.
Patient-related Risk Factors for Postoperative Mortality and Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Medicare Patients Undergoing TKA

Background The impact of specific baseline comorbid conditions on the relative risk of postoperative mortality and periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in elderly patients undergoing TKA has not been well defined.
MKPS: a multivariate polynomial scheme for symmetric key-establishment in distributed sensor networks

Privacy is a critical service in node-to-node communications when sensor networks are deployed in adversarial environments. However, providing this service is a nontrivial task because of the lack of infrastructure and node limitations. Existing techniques distribute secret keys to the network users through a trusted third party or using computationally-complex public-key methods. An alternative approach is pre-distributing keying material to the nodes prior to the network deployment. Exploiting the mathematical properties of symmetric polynomials, we propose a multivariate key pre-distribution scheme (MKPS) in this paper. In this scheme, using uniquely assigned IDs, shares of d-variate polynomials are stored into the memory of every sensor. After the network deployment, every two neighbor nodes at the unit Hamming distance of each other establish exactly d-1 common keys without any interaction with a third party in the network. The final secret key used by these nodes is a symmetric combination of all the common keys. We will show that this feature significantly improves the security of the MKPS over previous schemes. The proposed method is in the category of threshold schemes, i.e., it remains perfectly secure up to the capture of a certain fraction of sensor nodes. We also propose a location-aware MKPS in which, by taking advantage of the location information, perfect connectivity is achieved. The new location-aware scheme is a cell-based method in which nodes are randomly deployed within hexagonal cells. Nodes are unaware of their exact locations. Nevertheless, they know the coordinates of their residing cells. One MKPS is used to secure communications within every cell and one to secure communications between cells. This location-based scheme significantly improves the resiliency of the network against the node capture.
The Effect of Bubble Size on Fine Coal Flotation

To better understand the fundamental steps involved in the froth flotation process, the probability of collection has been determined for the flotation of a very hydrophobic, ash-free coal sample. The results show that probability of collection increases rapidly with decreasing bubble size, and the values are in good agreement with the theoretical collision probabilities predicted from Weber and Paddock's analysis. In the present work. Weber and Paddock's model has been expanded to predict the flotation rate constant as a function of bubble size and other operating variables. The flotation rate constants, determined experimentally using a run-of-mine coal, have been found to exhibit the same power dependence of bubble size as predicted by the model, but the values are lower than predicted by approximately 50%. This discrepancy may be attributed to the high ash content of the coal (15.5%) and, hence, a low probability of adhesion.
Cyclooxygenase products do not contribute to the gestational renal vasodilation in the nitric oxide synthase inhibited pregnant rat.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether vasodilatory cyclooxygenase (COX) products are activated in kidney during chronic nitric oxide synthase inhibition (NOSI) in pregnant rats. METHODS: Chronically catheterized pregnant and nonpregnant Sprague-Dawley female rats were treated with daily NOSI ( L-NAME; 100 mg/L drinking water) for 14 days. Renal function experiments were conducted twice at 7-9 days of chronic NOSI (equivalent to midterm in pregnant rats) and after 14 days (equivalent to late pregnancy). Measurements were made of arterial blood pressure (BP) and renal hemodynamics, specifically glomerular filtration rate (GFR), renal plasma flow (RPF), and renal vascular resistance (RVR), in control and then during acute COX inhibition with indomethacin (2 mg/kg i.v.). RESULTS: Chronic NOSI increased BP and RVR in both virgin and pregnant rats. The normal midterm renal vasodilation was prevented and there was no BP or renal hemodynamic response to acute COX inhibition. By late pregnancy, RPF had fallen further and again, acute COX inhibition had no impact on renal hemodynamics, although a small reduction was seen in GFR in LV. CONCLUSIONS: Vasodilatory COX products cannot compensate for nitric oxide as the renal vasodilatory factor of pregnancy in the rat.
“The Judge Called Me an Accessory”: Women's Prison Films, 1950-1962

(1995). “The Judge Called Me an Accessory”: Women's Prison Films, 1950-1962. Journal of Popular Film and Television: Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 80-87.
Patterns of host-parasite adaptation in three populations of monarch butterflies infected with a naturally occurring protozoan disease: virulence, resistance, and tolerance.

AbstractMany studies have used host-parasite systems to study local adaptation, but few of these studies have found unequivocal evidence for adaptation. One potential reason is that most studies have focused on limited measures of host and parasite fitness that are generally assumed to be under negative frequency-dependent selection. We have used reciprocal cross-infection experiments to test for local adaptation in Hawaiian, south Floridian, and eastern North American populations of monarch butterflies and their protozoan parasites. Sympatric host-parasite combinations did not result in greater host or parasite fitness, as would be expected under coevolutionary dynamics driven by negative frequency-dependent selection. Instead, we found that Hawaiian hosts were more resistant and carried more infective and virulent parasites, which is consistent with theoretical predictions for virulence evolution and coevolutionary arms race dynamics. We also found that Hawaiian hosts were more tolerant, particularly of...
Optimumisi-free DMT systems withconcave SNR tobit rate relations: when does othonornmality suffice?

We consider the design of optimum ISI-free, discrete multi- tone transmission (DMT) systems designed to achieve a quality of service (QoS) requirement quantified by bit rate and symbol error rate (SER) specifications. Optimality is in the sense of minimizing the transmitted power given the QoS specifications subject to the knowledge of the channel and colored interference at the receiver input of the DMT system. In our earlier papers we considered conditions under which relaxation of an orthonormality requirement produced no improvements, and which produced an attractive modular optimizing solution. The conditions in question were on a function that for a given SER related the bit rate to the SNR required to achieve this SER and involved a convexity requirement not satisfied by power efficient modulation schemes such as FSK, orthogonal and biorthogonal modulation. For these schemes this function is in fact concave. In this paper we show that concavity also suffices for these attractive properties of optimality to hold.
Characterization of a plasma membrane calcium oscillator in rat pituitary somatotrophs.

Abstract In excitable cells, oscillations in intracellular free calcium concentrations ([Ca2+]i) can arise from action-potential-driven Ca2+ influx, and such signals can have either a localized or global form, depending on the coupling of voltage-gated Ca2+ influx to intracellular Ca2+ release pathway. Here we show that rat pituitary somatotrophs generate spontaneous [Ca2+]ioscillations, which rise from fluctuations in the influx of external Ca2+ and propagate within the cytoplasm and nucleus. The addition of caffeine and ryanodine, modulators of ryanodine-receptor channels, and the depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores by thapsigargin and ionomycin did not affect the global nature of spontaneous [Ca2+]i signals. Bay K 8644, an L-type Ca2+ channel agonist, initiated [Ca2+]i signaling in quiescent cells, increased the amplitude of [Ca2+]i spikes in spontaneously active cells, and stimulated growth hormone secretion in perifused pituitary cells. Nifedipine, a blocker of L-type Ca2+channels, decreased the amplitude of spikes and basal growth hormone secretion, whereas Ni2+, a blocker of T-type Ca2+ channels, abolished spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations. Spiking was also abolished by the removal of extracellular Na+ and by the addition of 10 mm Ca2+, Mg2+, or Sr2+, the blockers of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analyses indicated the expression of mRNAs for these channels in mixed pituitary cells and purified somatotrophs. Growth hormone-releasing hormone, an agonist that stimulated cAMP and cGMP productions in a dose-dependent manner, initiated spiking in quiescent cells and increased the frequency of spiking in spontaneously active cells. These results indicate that in somatotrophs a cyclic nucleotide-controlled plasma membrane Ca2+oscillator is capable of generating global Ca2+ signals spontaneously and in response to agonist stimulation. The Ca2+-signaling activity of this oscillator is dependent on voltage-gated Ca2+ influx but not on Ca2+ release from intracellular stores.
Comparison of Clinical Characteristics and Frequency of Implantable Defibrillator Use Between Randomized Patients in the Antiarrhythmics Vs Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) Trial and Nonrandomized Registry Patients

In the Antiarrhythmics Vs Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) trial, all patients who meet the study entry criteria are followed in a registry. During the period between June 1993 and June 1995, of 1,117 patients who were enrolled in the registry and met the study entry criteria, 476 were randomized to receive either implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) or drug therapy (amiodarone or sotalol), and 641 patients were not randomized for a variety of reasons including: patient refusal (42%); physician refusal (43%); concerns about ability to maintain follow-up over several years (10%), and others (6%). There were no significant differences between the 476 randomized and 641 nonrandomized patients with regard to clinical characteristics, left ventricular function, history of congestive heart failure, medical history, and previous cardiac procedures performed before the index event, except that randomized patients were slightly older (65 vs 62 years) and had a slightly higher prevalence of coronary artery disease and previous myocardial infarction. The index event and location of the index event were not significantly different between the 2 groups. Although 14% of registry patients received neither ICD nor antiarrhythmic drug therapy, ICDs were no more frequently used in the registry patient than antiarrhythmic drugs (45% for ICD vs 42% for drugs). Thus, randomized AVID patients have very similar clinical characteristics, cardiac history, and presenting arrhythmias as to nonrandomized eligible patients. Therefore, the results of the AVID trial may be generalized for all patients with AVID-eligible arrhythmias.
Modified Electrodes with Switchable Selectivity for Cationic and Anionic Redox Species

The modified electrode functionalized with a mixed-polymer brush composed of poly(2-vinylpyridine) and polyacrylic acid tethered to the surface demonstrated switchable interfacial properties discriminating negatively and positively charged redox species. The switchable electrochemical process was characterized by differential pulse voltammetry and Faradaic impedance spectroscopy. The electrochemical system was discussed as a model of an electrochemical multiplexer with two chemical redox inputs, the pH input operating as the selecting signal and one electronic output signal readable by the impedance spectroscopy in the form of the interfacial resistance. The modified electrode represents a novel component for integration with biocatalytic and biocomputing systems aiming at biochemically and electronically controlled actuators.
The rhetoric of resistance: The ‘talking’ book of Felipe Guaman Poma

(1985). The rhetoric of resistance: The ‘talking’ book of Felipe Guaman Poma. History of European Ideas: Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 447-464.
Evolutionary Psychology’s Place in Evolutionary Studies: a Tale of Promise and Challenge

The Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) Consortium and the academic programs born from its creation have been wildly successful in their initial ventures. These achievements are marked by feedback from across the EvoS campuses, the resultant scholarly work produced by participating students, and faculty collaborations spurred by exposure to the organization. The success of EvoS is probably best marked by the recent National Science Foundation grant (CCLI Award #0817337), awarded jointly to SUNY New Paltz and Binghamton University, with the purpose of expanding EvoS beyond the bounds of these two institutions. A particularly noteworthy element of many EvoS programs is the role of Evolutionary Psychology (EP), a perspective in the behavioral sciences that addresses questions of human behavior from the perspective of evolution. In light of several forms of data, including analyses of a variety of disciplines drawn on from evolutionary psychologists in their work, we argue that evolutionary psychologists may well be the most naturally interdisciplinary scholars within the behavioral sciences, making them highly appropriate for inclusion in EvoS. But our research shows not only promise regarding the relationship between EP and EvoS—challenges are raised as well. We present additional data showing that EP is currently represented disproportionately within the EvoS world—a fact that clearly shows that there are currently limitations to the potential impact of EvoS in modern academia. Scholars from other disciplines, particularly within the humanities and social sciences, seem to be missing the evolution revolution. Implications regarding how EvoS can broaden its scope to be even more powerful in its integrative scope are discussed.
Invariant families of sets and zero dynamics of linear nonstationary control systems with scalar input and output

We obtain conditions for the existence of a linear feedback providing the existence of a family (N t ) of subspaces such that this family is invariant under the closed system and the output variable is zero on all motions lying in this family.
Triglyceride-rich lipoprotein lipolysis releases neutral and oxidized FFAs that induce endothelial cell inflammation.

Triglyceride-rich lipoprotein (TGRL) lipolysis products provide a pro-inflammatory stimulus that can alter endothelial barrier function. To probe the mechanism of this lipolysis-induced event, we evaluated the pro-inflammatory potential of lipid classes derived from human postprandial TGRL by lipoprotein lipase (LpL). Incubation of TGRL with LpL for 30 min increased the saturated and unsaturated FFA content of the incubation solutions significantly. Furthermore, concentrations of the hydroxylated linoleates 9-hydroxy ocatadecadienoic acid (9-HODE) and 13-HODE were elevated by LpL lipolysis, more than other measured oxylipids. The FFA fractions elicited pro-inflammatory responses inducing TNFα and intracellular adhesion molecule expression and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs). The FFA-mediated increase in ROS was blocked by both the cytochrome P450 2C9 inhibitor sulfaphenazole and NADPH oxidase inhibitors. Compared with linoleate, 13-HODE was found to be a more potent inducer of ROS production in HAECs, an activity that was insensitive to both NADPH oxidase and cytochrome P450 inhibitors. Therefore, although the oxidative metabolism of FFA in endothelial cells can produce inflammatory responses, TGRL lipolysis can also release preformed mediators of oxidative stress (e.g., HODEs) that may influence endothelial cell function in vivo by stimulating intracellular ROS production.
Temporal dynamics of natural enemy–pest interactions in a changing environment

Abstract Agroecosystems contain complex networks of interacting organisms and these interaction webs are structured by the relative timing of key biological and ecological events. Recent intensification of land management and global changes in climate threaten to desynchronize the temporal structure of interaction webs and disrupt the provisioning of ecosystem services, such as biological control by natural enemies. It is therefore critical to recognize the central role of temporal dynamics in driving predator–prey interactions in agroecosystems. Specifically, ecological dynamics in crop fields routinely behave as periodic oscillations, or cycles. Familiar examples include phenological cycles, diel activity rhythms, and crop-management cycles. The relative timing and the degree of overlap among ecological cycles determine the nature and magnitude of the ecological interactions among organisms, and ultimately determine whether ecosystem services, such as biological control, can be provided. Additionally, the ecological dynamics in many cropping systems are characterized by a pattern of frequent disturbances due to management actions such as harvest, sowing and pesticide applications. These disturbance cycles cause agroecosystems to be dominated by dispersal and repopulation dynamics. However, they also serve as selective filters that regulate which animals can persist in agroecosystems over larger temporal scales. Here, we review key concepts and examples from the literature on temporal dynamics in ecological systems, and provide a framework to guide biological control strategies for sustainable pest management in a changing world.
Surrogate expectations in severe brain injury.

AbstractObjective: To understand what influences surrogate decision-makers’ expectation that a patient with a disorder of consciousness (DOC; those in a coma, the vegetative state or the minimally conscious state) will recover.Subjects: Forty-one surrogates representing 37 DOC patients completed a survey about their experiences in having a family member with a DOC.Methods: A quantitative questionnaire assessed surrogate and patient’s demographic, medical and psychosocial features that may explain surrogate’s expectation of patient recovery.Results: Surrogates who were more relationally enmeshed with the patient thought the patient could communicate better and thought technology would improve treatment of patients with brain injury had greater expectations of recovery. Source of injury and patient’s current diagnosis did not explain expectations.Conclusion: Relational factors between the patient and the surrogate may explain the surrogate’s expectation that the patient will recover more than factors that m...
A novel Alu-mediated Xq28 microdeletion ablates TAZ and partially deletes DNL1L in a patient with Barth syndrome.

A Novel Alu-Mediated Xq28 Microdeletion Ablates TAZ and Partially Deletes DNL1L in a Patient With Barth Syndrome Harinder R. Singh, Zhao Yang, Saad Siddiqui, Liana S. Pe~na, Brandy H. Westerfield, Yuxin Fan, Jeffrey A. Towbin, and Matteo Vatta* Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Division of Cardiology, The Carman and Ann Adams, Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan Department of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and John Welsh Cardiovascular Diagnostic Laboratory, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, Texas
Determining the times and distances of particle transit in a mountain stream using fallout radionuclides

Abstract Targeting of erosion and pollution control programs is much more effective if the time for fine particles to be transported through a watershed, the travel distance, the proportions of old and new sediment in suspension, and the rate of erosion of the landscape can be estimated. In this paper we present a novel technique for tracing suspended sediment in a mountain stream using fallout radionuclides sorbed to sediment. Atmospherically-delivered 7 Be , 210 Pb , and 137 Cs accumulate in the snowpack, are released with its melting and sorb to fine particulates, a portion of which are carried downslope into stream channels. The half-life of cosmogenic 7 Be is short (53.4 days), thus, sediment residing on the stream bed should contain little of the radionuclide. The different signatures of newly delivered sediment from the landscape with its 7 Be tag and older untagged sediment from the channel is the basis for the tracing. The total flux of such radionuclides, compared to the inventory in the soil, permits estimates of the rates of erosion of the landscape. Fine suspended particulates in the Gold Fork River, ID, are transported downstream through the drainage in one or more steps having lengths of tens of kilometers. Length of the step decreases from about 60 km near the peak of the hydrograph to about 12 km near baseflow. The percent of sediment in suspension that is `new' (i.e., recently delivered from the landscape) ranges from 96 to 12%. The remaining sediment is resuspended older channel sediment. Residence times for particulates range from 1.6 days, early in the hydrograph at the upper site, to 103 days late in the hydrograph at the lowest elevation location. Rates of erosion of fine sediment calculated from the flux of radionuclides average 0.0023 cm/year. The long distance transport of fine particles suggests that delivery through the Gold Fork drainage to the basin outlet is fairly rapid once particles reach the channel and perhaps is also rapid in similar and smaller basins.
Nursing Home Length of Stay Patterns: Results From the 1985 National Nursing Home Survey

Length of stay (LOS) for elderly nursing home patients is estimated by converting discharges from the 1985 National Nursing Home Survey into an admission cohort and by adding reported immediate previous nursing home LOS to the surveyed LOS. The ultimate length of aggregated stays is longer than unaggregated estimates for elderly discharged residents. Although the mean length of aggregated stays is 19 months, the mean unaggregated stay is only 13 months.
Simple closed-form asymptotic symbol error rate of selection combining and its power loss compared to the maximal ratio combining over Nakagami m fading channels

This paper derives closed-form asymptotic symbol error rates (ASERs) for MPSK and MQAM signals with selection combining (SC) over Nakagami-m fading channels. It also presents a closed-form expression for the power loss of SC compared to maximal ratio combining (MRC) over a Nakagami- m fading channel. It is found that this power gap is a function of only the number (L) of independent Nakagami-m channels and the fading parameter m. For a fixed m, the gap monotonically increases with L. For a fixed L, the gap monotonically increases with m and approaches 10 log10 L dB (the asymptotic gap between MRC and SC in an AWGN channel) as m ? ?. In addition, numerical results show the accuracy of the ASERs obtained from closed-form expressions for both MRC and SC with MPSK and MQAM signals for large SNRs. They also show that the SNR gap is identical to that predicted by the analysis for arbitrary L and m.
Electric Field Effects in Electron-Nuclear Double-Resonance Spectroscopy of F Centers

The change in the magnetic hyperfine interaction of the $F$-center electron with its nearest-neighbor nuclei, due to an external uniform electric field, has been measured by ENDOR spectroscopy. These perturbations were observed for the first-, and fourth-nearest-neighbor nuclei in three host lattices: NaCl, KCl, and KBr. An effective-spin Hamiltonian is developed to predict theoretically the observed line shapes and splittings. Using the theoretical interpretation of the data, the values of the change in the hyperfine interaction with applied electric field, $\frac{\ensuremath{\partial}a}{\ensuremath{\partial}E}$, were determined for all three host crystals.
The struggle for safety: effectiveness of caterpillar defenses against bird predation

The effectiveness of anti-predator traits, such as warning signals and camouflage, has rarely been quantified from a phylogenetic community ecology perspective. Here we use a phylogenetic comparative analysis to test the association between several putative anti-predator traits and bird predation risk in an assemblage of caterpillar species. We synthesize eight years of field and laboratory study of a temperate forest community, including a four-year bird exclusion experiment that provided comparative measures of bird predation risk for 38 caterpillar species from a phylogenetic community. We then conducted a phylogenetic generalized least-squares and information-theoretic model selection analysis of warning signals (aposematism or mimicry), camouflage (crypsis or masquerade), and behavioral responses to physical attack as predictors of bird predation, while also accounting for putatively important effects of the abundance, mean body size, and phenology of caterpillar species. The most behaviorally specialized caterpillar species possessing warning signals experienced the lowest bird predation risk, supporting aposematism theory and highlighting the role of prey behavior in the visual signaling of predators. Among the camouflaged caterpillar species, those with the greatest latency to detection by human proxy predators experienced the lowest bird predation risk, supporting camouflage theory. Caterpillar behavioral responses to physical attack, however, predicted increased bird predation risk among camouflaged caterpillars. Although caterpillar abundance, body size, and phenology were expected to be important based on inference from optimal foraging theory and previous field observations, these factors had limited predictive power. This study provides methodologically unique evidence for the importance of morphological and behavioral components of primary, visual defenses of caterpillars against their avian predators in a natural community.
Multiphoton fabrication of functional three-dimensional structures

Multiphoton absorption (MPA), by virtue of its optical nonlinearity, can be caused to occur efficiently only within the tight focal volume of a laser beam. As a result, it is possible to localize any photochemical or photophysical process that depends upon MPA within a small region of space, the position of which can be controlled readily. The phenomenon has been used to great advantage in 3-D imaging over the past decade [1], and more recently has been applied to 3-D microfabrication, particularly in the form of photopolymerization [2-4]. When chemical nonlinearity is present in addition to optical nonlinearity, it is even possible to fabricate features that are considerably smaller than the diffraction limit [5].
The mRNA and the Activity of Lysyl Hydroxylase Are Up-Regulated by the Administration of Ascorbate and Hydralazine to Human Skin Fibroblasts from a Patient with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type VI

Lysyl hydroxylase (LH) catalyzes the formation of hydroxylysine required for the intermolecular cross-linking of collagen, which is an essential step in collagen biosynthesis. Dermal fibroblasts from patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome type VI (EDS VI), an inherited connective tissue disorder, express decreased levels of LH activity. In the present study we have shown that both the mRNA and the enzyme activity of LH in skin fibroblasts from one EDS VI patient (AT750), a compound heterozygote for the LH gene, are increased by administration of ascorbate and hydralazine, either individually or in combination. Although the AT750 cells express only 24% of the LH activity found in normal cells, a similar fold increase in activities in both EDS VI and normal cells was observed following treatment with ascorbate (1.5- to 2-fold) and hydralazine (2- to 4-fold), which paralleled the increase in their steady state LH mRNAs. Ascorbate increased total collagen production by 2-fold from a similar basal level of collagen synthesis in each cell type. This was confirmed by protein gel analysis which showed increases in pro alpha 1(I), pro alpha 2(I), and pro alpha 1(III) collagen chains in both normal and EDS VI cells. This ascorbate-mediated increase of alpha 1(I) collagen resulted from increased mRNAs for alpha 1(I) collagen in both cell types. Hydralazine treatment, with or without ascorbate, severely decreased the alpha 1(I) collagen mRNAs in fibroblasts from both AT750 and the normal donor; total collagen synthesis was similarly reduced. This study shows that LH activity, which is severely deficient in fibroblasts from an EDS VI patient, can be upregulated by administration of ascorbate and hydralazine as a result of the increased mRNA for LH, suggesting that the mechanism for the regulation of the LH gene is functioning normally in this patient.
Sample Size for Multiple Regression: Obtaining Regression Coefficients That Are Accurate, Not Simply Significant.

An approach to sample size planning for multiple regression is presented that emphasizes accuracy in parameter estimation (AIPE). The AIPE approach yields precise estimates of population parameters by providing necessary sample sizes in order for the likely widths of confidence intervals to be sufficiently narrow. One AIPE method yields a sample size such that the expected width of the confidence interval around the standardized population regression coefficient is equal to the width specified. An enhanced formulation ensures, with some stipulated probability, that the width of the confidence interval will be no larger than the width specified. Issues involving standardized regression coefficients and random predictors are discussed, as are the philosophical differences between AIPE and the power analytic approaches to sample size planning.
First-principles study of titanium oxides

Titanium forms a wide range of stoichiometric oxides. The low-temperature monoclinic phase of titanium monoxide Ti{sub 5}O{sub 5} has an ordered array of vacancies in an otherwise simple NaCl structure. Using the variable cell shape method and the local-density approximation, all 12 parameters of the crystal structure are relaxed. Comparisons with other possible structures and other transition-metal monoxides suggest that there is a competition between kinetic- and Madelung-energy contributions and that this low symmetry structure is stabilized in part by the overlap of occupied Ti-ion orbitals via the vacant oxygen site. Resistivities of the low-temperature Ti{sub 5}O{sub 5} phase fitted using the Bloch-Gr{umlt u}neisen formula imply that the monoxide is a borderline quasiparticle gas. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
Poster: Empirical comparison of protocols for sequencing-based gene and isoform expression profiling

For isoform expression inference, RNA-Seq and DGE give comparable results whereas for gene expression DGE has better accuracy when enough isoforms are cut by the restriction enzyme used. DGE accuracy improves with the percentage of isoforms cut and is better for partial digestion compared to complete digestion. Using enzymes with degenerate recognition sites, such as CviJI, yields better accuracy than using enzymes from published studies [?], [?].
Ventral phasic mechanoreceptors in the cockroach abdomen

Abstract Using electrophysiological recordings, methylene blue stains, and histological cross-sections, a pair of mechanoreceptor organs (ventral phasic receptors, or VPRs) have been found in abdominal segments 2 to 7 in Blaberus craniifer. Each receptor has four to seven encapsulated receptor cells and a single large fibrous attachment to the cuticle near the ventral midline. It lacks a second attachment to the cuticle, but fine strands projecting into the surrounding soft tissues from the cell body region may provide a functional second attachment. The VPRs respond in a highly phasic manner to a variety of mechanical stimuli, including tapping the recording table, probing the ventral muscles, high intensity sounds, movements produced during ventilation and by contraction of the inner sternal muscles, and vertical movements of the whole abdomen. The VPRs probably act as ventilation receptors in intact animals, but other functions are also likely.
Electrophoretic collision of a DNA molecule with a small elliptical obstacle

We present a Brownian dynamics study of the collision and unhooking of a λ-DNA molecule with an elliptical obstacle. The semi-major and semi-minor axes of the obstacle are comparable to the radius of gyration of the DNA, and the field is sufficiently strong to cause frequent hairpin formation upon collision. We focus on how the dynamics of a head-on collision (impact parameter of zero) are affected by the angle between the major axis of the ellipse and the direction of the electric field far from the elliptical surface. When this orientation angle breaks the symmetry of the system, we find that the collision dynamics are considerably more complicated than the cylindrical obstacle case. In particular, a higher strain rate at the stagnation point on an elliptical surface does not always lead to a higher hooking probability. As a result, elliptical obstacles should be less effective than cylindrical obstacles for DNA separations based on hairpin formation.