cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differentiating biochemistry course laboratories based on student experience

Content and emphases in undergraduate biochemistry courses can be readily tailored to accommodate the standards of the department in which they are housed, as well as the backgrounds of the students in the courses. A more challenging issue is how to construct laboratory experiences for a class with both chemistry majors, who usually have little or no experience with biochemical techniques and biology and biochemistry majors who do. This manuscript describes a strategy for differentiating biochemistry labs to meet the needs of students with differing backgrounds. BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 216–218, 2011.
Human Nature, Organizations, and Management Theory

Four theories of human nature characterize the deeply embedded belief structures of organizational life. Depending on which theory is dominant, organizational members may take a “democratic,” “modern,” “totalitarian,” or “hermeneutic” perspective of human nature. These theories influence organizational structuring and guide managerial behavior. By using models of human nature, organizational researchers can add to explanatory theory in the sociology of organizations. In addition, research issues regarding organizational control and decision making can be seen in a new light.
Small Bowel Resection Induces Long-Term Changes in the Enteric Microbiota of Mice

Purpose The enteric microbiome is known to play a major role in healthy gut homeostasis and several disease states. It may also contribute to both the intestinal recovery and complications that occur in patients with short bowel syndrome. The extent and nature of alterations to the gut microbiota following intestinal resection, however, are not well studied in a controlled setting. The purpose of this investigation is to characterize the effects of massive small bowel resection on the murine enteric microflora.
Simultaneous production of lactic acid and propylene glycol from glycerol using solid catalysts without external hydrogen

Abstract Development of value-added chemicals from glycerol, the co-product with biodiesel, is imperative in sustaining the biodiesel industry. Combined usage of a solid base and a copper-based catalyst provided a catalytic pathway to convert glycerol to racemic lactic acid. A new pathway was found that during the glycerol-to-lactic acid conversion, hydrogen was formed, which could be used in situ to generate propylene glycol catalyzed by the copper-based catalyst. This new pathway was attested by results of systematically experimental study investigating the synergistic functions of a base catalyst (CaO, MgO, or SrO) and a copper-based dehydrogenation catalyst (Cu, CuO, Cu2O, or Cu2Cr2O5). Different combinations of catalysts and reaction conditions provided a tunable range for the yield of lactic acid and propylene glycol. Emphasis was put on the combined use of CuO and CaO due to their inexpensive availability and ease of recyclability; at optimal reaction conditions, the yield of lactic acid reached 52 mol% together with 31 mol% yield of propylene glycol.
Protein and amino acid restriction, aging and disease: from yeast to humans

Many of the effects of dietary restriction (DR) on longevity and health span in model organisms have been linked to reduced protein and amino acid (AA) intake and the stimulation of specific nutrient signaling pathways. Studies in yeast have shown that addition of serine, threonine, and valine in media promotes cellular sensitization and aging by activating different but connected pathways. Protein or essential AA restriction extends both lifespan and healthspan in rodent models. In humans, protein restriction (PR) has been associated with reduced cancer, diabetes, and overall mortality. Thus, interventions aimed at lowering the intake of proteins or specific AAs can be beneficial and have the potential to be widely adopted and effective in optimizing healthspan.
Is There a Role for Selective Axillary Dissection in Breast Cancer

Surgery is the most effective therapeutic intervention available for the treatment of breast cancer. It has been responsible for obtaining local control and long-term disease-free intervals in more patients over the past century than any other treatment modality. Trends toward earlier stage at diagnosis are likely to increase the importance of surgery and to secure its central role in the treatment of this disease. Unfortunately, during the 1990s the value of excellent local control of breast cancer has been minimized as the disease has come to be considered systemic from inception and as the results of adjuvant-therapy trials in patients with early-stage breast cancer have revealed survival advantages in patients receiving systemic therapy. Only rarely is it acknowledged that surgery alone achieves long-term disease-free states in 70% to 80% of all patients. At the core of this paradigmatic controversy is management of the axilla. The status of the axilla remains the most powerful predictor of outcome in patients with invasive carcinoma of the breast, and it is likely that a small but identifiable subset of patients obtains a survival benefit from the removal of disease-containing nodes. It is believed that no benefit is derived from the removal of negative nodes, and indeed there are even patients in whom complete elimination of the exploration of the axilla may be considered—all of which underscores the need to investigate the axilla selectively. Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy represents the most exciting development to date toward this end. The challenge today, as we move closer to a selective approach to the axilla, is to ensure that patients with positive nodes have those nodes identified and removed and patients with negative nodes experience minimal disturbance of their axilla.
World Kidney Day 2009: Problems and Challenges in the Emerging Epidemic of Kidney Disease

World Kidney Day is an occasion to mark growing concerns over the impact of kidney disease on global public health. Although the distribution of causes of kidney disease and access to dialysis and transplantation may vary among regions of the world, arguably, one point is universal. An expanding proportion of people in every nation in the world are affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD). In the United States, the most recent data suggest that 27 million individuals have CKD, representing nearly one in every seven adults and a 30% increase over the past decade.1 Population sampling studies from around the globe now indicate similar prevalence rates, usually ranging between 10 and 13%. Because the prevalence of CKD rises dramatically with age and is also associated with obesity and diabetes, kidney disease will be a public health concern for the foreseeable future. Kidney disease is linked with major adverse health outcomes, including premature cardiovascular disease, with a graded increase in risk as kidney function is lost.2,3 This is now clear from epidemiologic studies, community-based studies, and reanalysis of clinical trials of patients with kidney disease. The rising rate in the number of patients who do reach end-stage kidney disease and are treated with dialysis or renal transplantation also continues to be of concern. There is significant risk that the growing economic burden will render treatment costs unsustainable even in resource-rich environments. An overall decline in physical performance and cognitive function is also linked to kidney disease, markedly affecting quality of life. As a global community, we need to ask ourselves whether we have in place the strategy to address fully the universal health problems arising from kidney disease, given the biologic and culture heterogeneity of populations, diverse environments, and varying capabilities of health care delivery systems around …
Is It Acceptable to Let a Species Go Extinct in a National Park

I once was asked whether it was okay to allow a species to go extinct in a national park. My gut response was no, but I had not thought about the question seriously: whose park and where, and would the extinction have direct or indirect effects on the ecological community? Perhaps I might have couched a reply by suggesting that it was okay for some species to go extinct in some parks but not in others. Whether a single unanimous response fits all possibilities is unclear. Here I address the question by suggesting how preemptive measures might be used to forestall species losses, and I follow up with a real-world case of how an imminent loss can be circumvented. This latter point is highly relevant because it concerns not only the looming extirpation of a species from a national park but also an ecological process of national and international importance: the longest overland mammal migration across the vastness between Tierra del Fuego and Toronto.
Inhibition of DNA synthesis facilitates expansion of low-complexity repeats: is strand slippage stimulated by transient local depletion of specific dNTPs?

Simple DNA repeats (trinucleotide repeats, micro- and minisatellites) are prone to expansion/contraction via formation of secondary structures during DNA synthesis. Such structures both inhibit replication forks and create opportunities for template-primer slippage, making these repeats unstable. Certain aspects of simple repeat instability, however, suggest additional mechanisms of replication inhibition dependent on the primary DNA sequence, rather than on secondary structure formation. I argue that expanded simple repeats, due to their lower DNA complexity, should transiently inhibit DNA synthesis by locally depleting specific DNA precursors. Such transient inhibition would promote formation of secondary structures and would stabilize these structures, facilitating strand slippage. Thus, replication problems at simple repeats could be explained by potentiated toxicity, where the secondary structure-driven repeat instability is enhanced by DNA polymerase stalling at the low complexity template DNA. This minireview is dedicated to the FASEB-2012 meeting “Dynamic DNA Structures in Biology”, organized by Nancy Maizels and Sergei Mirkin.
Infrared Star in RCW 113

Photometric observations of an infrared star in the H, K, and L bands are presented. The star was detected by drift scans of the Hii region RCW 113 at 2.37 .
Faculty Ratings as a Measure of Departmental and Administrator Quality.

This study examined the usefulness of faculty ratings as a measure of departmental quality. Two hundred and thirty-three faculty members from six departments responded to two questionnaires relating to the department—the Department Evaluation Survey (DES)—and to the department head—the Administrator Evaluation Survey (AES). A factor analysis of the DES revealed three underlying dimensions: Satisfaction with the Department's Academic Environment, Satisfaction with the Department's Governance and Operating Procedures, and Satisfaction with Student Quality. The factor analysis of the AES identified only one underlying dimension. Both the DES and AES were found to be highly reliable and effective in discriminating among departments. Very high positive correlations were also found between selacted DES and AES items suggesting that the performance of the head plays a very important role in faculty perceptions of the departments, and vice versa. Faculty ratings would appear to be a useful initial criterion in evaluating a department or head.
Effect of MeV ion irradiation on the coefficient of thermal expansion of Fe—Ni Invar alloys: A combinatorial study

Abstract The effect of low-dose MeV ion irradiation on the thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of Fe–Ni alloys has been studied over the entire composition range using a combinatorial method. With our experimental precision of ±5%, the thermal conductivity of Fe–Ni alloys is unchanged by 2.3 MeV Ar + irradiation at a fluence of 1.2 × 10 14 ions cm - 2 . The CTE of Fe–Ni Invar alloys with Ni concentrations between 30 and 37 at.% increases significantly upon 2.3 MeV Ar + irradiation. At the Invar composition of Fe 65 Ni 35 , the CTE increases from 0.5 × 10 - 6 K - 1 before ion irradiation to 4.3 × 10 - 6 K - 1 after irradiation for an ion fluence of 1.2 × 10 14 ions cm - 2 or, equivalently, 0.1 displacements per atom. We attribute this increase in CTE to changes in atomic short-range order created by ion irradiation.
Race- and sex-related differences in care for patients newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk of stroke and death. Uniform utilization of appropriate therapies for AF may help reduce those risks. Objective We sought to determine whether significant race and sex differences exist in the treatment of newly diagnosed AF in Medicare beneficiaries. Methods We used administrative encounter data for Medicare beneficiaries to identify patients with newly diagnosed AF during 2010–2011. Services received after initial AF diagnosis were cataloged, including visits with a cardiologist or electrophysiologist, catheter ablation procedures, and use of oral anticoagulants, rate control agents, and antiarrhythmic drugs. Results Overall, 517,941 patients met study criteria, of whom 452,986 (87%) were white, 36,425 (7%) black, and 28,530 (6%) Hispanic. Male patients comprised 209,788 (41%) of the cohort. In multivariate analysis, there were statistically significant differences in the use of AF-related services by both race and sex, with white patients and male patients receiving the most care. The most notable disparities were for catheter ablation (Hispanic vs white: adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63–0.79; P P P P P Conclusion Race and sex appear to have a significant effect on the health care provided to this cohort of Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with AF. Possible explanations include racial differences in access, patient preferences, treatment bias, and unmeasured clinical characteristics.
Effects of Lead on Glutathione S-Transferase Expression in Rat Kidney: A Dose—Response Study

Abstract GlutathioneS-transferases (GST, EC 2.5.1.18) are a family of phase II detoxification enzymes involved in the conjugation of glutathione to a highly diverse group of compounds. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dose–response effects of lead acetate administration on the expression of rat kidney GST. Sprague–Dawley rats were injected with doses of lead acetate ranging from 0.11 to 114 mg/kg (0.3 to 300 μmol/kg) for three consecutive days and sacrificed 24 h later. Kidney GST activity, GST isoform HPLC profiles, blood lead analysis, and electron microscopy were performed. A dose of 1.1 mg/kg lead acetate resulted in a blood lead level of 26 μg/dl and produced a significant increase in GST activity which continued to increase with dose up to 38 mg/kg. Morphological changes were detected at 3.8 mg/kg and increasing severity of cellular damage paralleled dose, blood lead levels, and changes in body weight. Individual GST isoforms exhibited different thresholds and maxima; rGSTP1 and rGSTM1 had thresholds of 1.1 and 3.8 mg/kg, respectively, very similar rates of increase with dose, and a maximum yield that was 450% above control at a dose of 38 mg/kg for both enzymes. rGSTA1 and rGSTA3 showed similar thresholds (1.1 mg/kg) and maximal fold increase (275%) but varied in the relative response to each dose. These results indicate that renal GST increases occur at lead levels which are environmentally significant, that these changes precede cellular damage, and suggest that GST may serve as a tissue biomarker of lead exposure.
The Economic Costs of Partner Violence and the Cost-Benefit of Civil Protective Orders:

Partner violence affects a significant number of women and their children each year. Estimates of the economic costs of partner violence are substantial. However, most estimates of the costs of partner violence are made at the aggregate level rather than the individual level. Estimating costs at the individual level allows for a wider range of costs of partner violence to be considered. This study is one of the first to examine a wide range of economic costs of partner violence and to examine the economic costs and cost-benefits of civil protective orders. Overall, including changes in quality of life, protective orders were estimated to have saved taxpayers in one small state US$85 million in a 1-year period. More generally, this study provides a framework to address more specific complexities associated with cost-benefit analyses of partner violence and the impact of justice system interventions.
Contextualizing enginering education

The author investigated the possibility of integrating ideas of context into the engineer's image of engineering education in order that engineering education will more accurately reflect engineering practice. He suggests that this can be done without major curricular overhaul by contextualizing some textbook problems, which can be done by modifying a portion of assigned problems to have them include contextual issues. The contexts in which the problems are to be embedded will reveal numerous features of real engineering practice. >
Ultrasound for the Detection of Pleural Effusions and Guidance of the Thoracentesis Procedure

Objective. To review the use of ultrasound for the detection of pleural effusions and guidance of the thoracentesis procedure. Methods. Two clinical cases will be presented in which ultrasound proved beneficial in guiding the diagnosis and management of patients with pleural effusions and respiratory distress. The ultrasound techniques for the evaluation of pleural effusions and performance of the thoracentesis procedure are discussed. A review of the most current literature follows to present the known diagnostic and safety benefits of ultrasound guidance for thoracentesis. Conclusions. Ultrasound improves the diagnostic accuracy for the detection of pleural effusions over standard chest radiographs. Ultrasound can also diagnose a complicated pleural effusion that may be at higher risk for an adverse outcome during a thoracentesis. Optimally, thoracentesis should be performed under direct ultrasound guidance to decrease the complication rate and improve patient safety.
I-DG: a secure protocol for disseminating data to subscribers via IP multicast

This paper proposes the IP Multicast-enabled Drop Groups (I-DG) protocol as a solution to the problem of efficiently and securely disseminating information to a large number of subscribers in the Internet. The I-DG protocol uses an appropriate IP multicasting protocol as the base and addresses the problems introduced by large scale data dissemination. I-DG provides dynamic subscription to multicast data, efficient secure subscription in IP multicasting, and proposes a solution to content organization in broadcasts.
Conductance quantization and zero bias peak in a gated quantum wire

Abstract Conductance measurements are reported for an 0.4 μm wide GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wire with 7 cross-channel gates. The device exhibited integral conductance steps, magnetoconductance plateaus in agreement with the multiprobe formula and a conductance feature at 0.65(2e2/h). Differential conductance measurements down to 50 mK revealed a zero bias conductance peak that vanished with an in-plane field of 1 T. The width of this peak was comparable to that reported in high mobility quantum point contacts (Phys. Rev. Lett. 88 (2002) 226805). At low conductances this device also exhibited single electron charging characteristic of a multiple quantum dot.
ITU World Telecom 2006 report

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to report on the International Telecommunication Union Telecom World Symposium and Trade Show held in Hong Kong in December 2006.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports on some of the ideas presented at the symposium.Findings – The paper finds that attendees got a first‐hand sense of Chinese ascendancy in information and communications technology (ICT) as well as the promise offered by ICT to bridge the digital divide.Originality/value – The paper shows the ideas on bridging the digital divide presented at ITU World Telecom 2006.
Quenching Mechanism of β-Carotene on the Chlorophyll Sensitized Photooxidation of Soybean Oil

The effects of 0, 5, 10, and 20 ppm β-carotene on the oxidation of 0.033, 0.066, 0.165, 0.330, or 0.660M soybean oil in methylene chloride containing 4 ppm chlorophyll have been studied by measuring headspace oxygen depletion in gas-tight sample bottles during 24 hr of light storage. The oxygen depletion was measured by a thermal conductivity gas chromatograph. The rate of singlet oxygen formation in soybean oil by 4 ppm chlorophyll was 0.17 μmoles O2/mL head-space during first 24 hr of storage. The quenching mechanism study of g-carotene on the chlorophyll sensitized photooxidation of soybean oil showed that g-carotene minimized the oxidation of soybean oil by quenching singlet oxygen. p-carotene did not quench chlorophy11.
Optical header recognition using time stretch preprocessing

We propose and demonstrate the time stretch optical header recognition technique where a high speed header is extracted and slowed down by more than an order of magnitude, in optical domain, to facilitate the capture and processing in electronic domain. The technique can be implemented in continuous time or discrete time. Both implementations are experimentally demonstrated for stretching a 10 Gb/s header by a factor of 20. Eye diagrams and Q values are generated to evaluate the quality of stretched headers. While both implementations are capable of slowing down the header bit rate, each method has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of bandwidth, maximum header length, latency, and sensitivity to the sampling clock jitter.
Programming with Functional Memory

Functional memory (FM) uses memory mapped reprogrammable field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) for fine-grained parallel processing. Multi-operand expressions are computed in combinational logic eliminating processor computation steps. FPGAs capture operands as memory is written, eliminating separate processor load-stores to pass operands. This paper describes how program expressions can be implemented in FM, including branch address computations. It concludes with a load store analysis comparing a conventional von Neumann processor with and without FM for a shortest path program. The load store count stays about the same but eliminating the computation steps results in a one-third step reduction overall with FM.
Evaluation of the Frictional Resistance of Conventional and Self-ligating Bracket Designs Using Standardized Archwires and Dental Typodonts

Abstract The frictional behavior of four conventional and four self-ligating brackets were simulated using a mechanical testing machine. Analyses of the two-bracket types were completed by drawing samples of three standardized archwires through quadrants of typodont models in the dry/wet states. Pretreatment typodonts of an oral cavity featured progressively malocclused quadrants. As nominal dimensions of the archwires were increased, the drawing forces of all brackets increased at different rates. When coupled with a small wire, the self-ligating brackets performed better than the conventional brackets. For the 0.014-inch wires in the upper right quadrant, the maximum drawing forces averaged 125 and 810 cN for self-ligating and conventional brackets, respectively. When coupled with larger wires, various designs interchangeably displayed superior performance. For the 0.019-× 0.025-inch wires in the upper left quadrant, the maximum drawing forces averaged 1635 and 2080 cN for self-ligating and conventional...
Use of Platelet Aggregometer to monitor the chymosin-initiated coagulation of casein micelles

The chymosin-initiated coagulation of casein micelles was followed by monitoring light transmission using a Platelet Aggregometer. The release of macropeptide by chymosin was monitored using fluorescamine. The lag period in the clotting reaction was proportional to clotting time and the reciprocal of enzyme concentration. The average rate of coagulation, which was approximately equal to the reciprocal of clotting time (Tc), increased in proportion to enzyme concentration at low enzyme concentrations and reached a limiting value at high enzyme concentrations. The percentage hydrolysis at the Tc was 47 ± 5% in the presence of 20 mM-CaCl2 and it was calculated that a 5-fold decrease in the speed of the enzyme-catalysed reaction would decrease this value at the Tc to 43 ± 5%. The possible uses and limitations of the Platelet Aggregometer for determining the influence of the chemical environment on the velocity of the chymosin-catalysed reaction and para-casein micelle aggregatability are discussed.
Inhibition of in vitro fertilization of mouse eggs: 3‐quinuclidinyl benzilate specifically blocks penetration of zonae pellucidae by mouse spermatozoa

The fertilization in vitro of mouse with intact zonae pellucidae by mouse cauda epididymal spermatozoa was inhibited in a concentration- dependent fashion by 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB), normally used as a specific antagonist for the muscarinic class of cholinergic receptors. Inhibition was observed with both cumulus-intact and cumulus-free preparations. QNB at 50 microM inhibited fertilization of cumulus-free eggs by greater than 90% but had no effect on the fertilization of zona-free eggs. At this concentrations, QNB had no adverse effect on sperm motility, nor did it prevent binding of spermatozoa to the zona pellucida. The inhibitory effects of QNB were fully reversible. QNB is therefore a useful specific inhibitor of zona penetration. Spermatozoa in the in vitro fertilization medium bound QNB with a concentration dependence which matched that of the inhibition of fertilization. This binding was saturable and corresponded to 700 pmole/10(7) cells with KD = 10 microM. The in vitro fertilization medium contains 2% (w/v) bovine serum albumin (BSA) which also binds QNB according to the mass action law. The large amount of QNB bound to sperm in this medium appears to be QNB binding to BSA adsorbed on the sperm cell surface: these spermatozoa bind QNB specifically in the absence of BSA with a saturable capacity of only 70 fmole/10(7) cells with KD = 5 nM. Calculation of the distribution of QNB between BSA binding sites and sperm surface binding sites in the in vitro fertilization medium indicates that the specific sperm sites become saturated with the same concentration dependence as inhibition of fertilization. However, the dissociation rate of QNB from sperm in both the presence and absence of BSA is too rapid to permit confirmation of these sites as the locus of the inhibitory effect; this locus remains to be clarified.
Current Challenges in the Treatment of Community-Acquired Pneumonia

The respiratory fluoroquinolones are considered to be an effective treatment option for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), and they are the recommended first-line treatment for certain patients. However, the development of resistance associated with the widespread use of these agents has raised concern about the future clinical value of this class of antibiotics. The 4 articles in this supplement issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases reveal clinical data on the safety and efficacy of a fluoroquinolone, levofloxacin, used for the treatment of CAP and CAP-associated infections, including those caused by penicillin- and macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Future strategies of fluoroquinolone use may improve clinical efficacy and reduce the risk of the emergence of resistance. However, judicious use of antibiotics should always be a high priority when considering treatment of respiratory tract infections.
A sensitive algorithm for automatic detection of space-time alternating signals in cardiac tissue

Alternans, a beat-to-beat alternation in cardiac signals, may serve as a precursor to lethal cardiac arrhythmias, including ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Therefore, alternans is a desirable target of early arrhythmia prediction/detection. For long-term records and in the presence of noise, the definition of alternans is qualitative and ambiguous. This makes their automatic detection in large spatiotemporal data sets almost impossible. We present here a quantitative combinatorics-derived definition of alternans in the presence of random noise and a novel algorithm for automatic alternans detection using criteria like temporal persistence (TP), representative phase (RP) and alternans ratio (AR). This technique is validated by comparison to theoretically-derived probabilities and by test data sets with white noise. Finally, the algorithm is applied to ultra-high resolution optical mapping data from cultured cell monolayers, exhibiting calcium alternans. Early fine-scale alternans, close to the noise level, were revealed and linked to the later formation of larger regions and evolution of spatially discordant alternans (SDA). This robust new technique can be useful in quantification and better understanding of the onset of arrhythmias and in general analysis of space-time alternating signals.
The Relationship of Group Process and Group Task Accomplishment To Group Member Satisfaction

The development of both group process and group task accomplishment is an in tegral part of the function of most groups. This study examines both process and task factors, exploring their relationship to group member satisfaction. The authors also suggest implications for practice indicated by the findings.
A variable-order FLOM algorithm for heavy-tailed clutter suppression

The normalized fractionally-lower order moment (FLOM) algorithm exhibits fast convergence but high excess mean squared error (MSE) when the order is less than 2. This paper proposes a method using variable order moments to adaptively changing the order during adaptation, thus achieving both fast initial convergence and low excess MSE in the steady state. The algorithm is applied to both Gaussian and heavy-tailed non-Gaussian clutter suppression in phased array applications. The results show better performances of the proposed algorithm over the normalized FLOM and normalized Least Mean Square (NLMS) algorithms. The proposed algorithm also performs well in other adaptive filtering applications such as system identification and noise/echo suppression.
Pivotal role of early B‐cell factor 1 in development of striatonigral medium spiny neurons in the matrix compartment

The mammalian striatum plays a critical function in motor control, motor and reward learning, and cognition. Dysfunction and degeneration of the striatal neurons are implicated in major neurological and psychiatric disorders. The vast majority of striatal neurons are medium spiny neurons (MSNs). MSNs can be further subdivided into distinct subtypes based on their physical localization in the striatal patch vs. matrix compartments and based on their axonal projections and marker gene expression (i.e., striatonigral MSNs vs. striatopallidal MSNs). Despite our extensive knowledge on the striatal cytoarchitecture and circuitry, little is known about the molecular mechanisms controlling the development of the MSN subtypes in the striatum. Early B-cell factor 1 (Ebf1) is a critical transcription factor implicated in striatal MSN development. One study shows that Ebf1 is critical for the differentiation of MSNs in the matrix, and our separate study demonstrates that Ebf1 is selectively expressed in the striatonigral MSNs and is essential for their postnatal differentiation. In the present study, we further validate the striatonigral MSN deficits in Ebf1 2/2 mice using multiple striatonigral MSN reporter mice. Moreover, we demonstrate that the striatonigral MSN deficits in these mice are restricted to those in the matrix, with relative sparing of those in the patch. Finally, we demonstrate that Ebf1 deficiency also results in reduced expression of another striatonigral-specific transcription factor, zinc finger binding protein 521 (Zfp521), which is a known Ebf1 functional partner. Overall, our study reveals that Ebf1 may play an essential role in controlling the differentiation of the striatonigral MSNs in the matrix compartment. V C 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Brain meningioma in a patient with complaints of low back pain and leg weakness.

BackgroundMeningiomas are the most common form of benign brain tumors in adults. Due to a wide range of symptom presentation, tumors can be difficult to diagnose. For physical therapists, it is important to be aware that brain tumors can mimic other diagnoses and present in conjunction with other musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this case report is to describe the physical therapists' management of a patient who presented with initial signs and symptoms of low back pain (LBP) and radicular symptoms, but whose symptoms became atypical and required further diagnostic work-up and medical management. Diagnosis: The patient was ultimately diagnosed with a large, benign meningioma in the left motor cortex of the brain. One week following referral from the physical therapist, the tumor was surgically excised. Discussion: This case report brings attention to the importance of regular, systematic examination of the patient's clinical presentation to identify mechanical and non-mechanical signs and symptom...
THE VARIATION OF ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE WITH APPLIED POTENTIAL : I. INTACT VALONIA VENTRICOSA.

Many of the freshly gathered cells of Valonia ventricosa have a resistance to direct current which is variable and depends on the potential applied. It is low when low potentials are applied and rises sharply at higher values. The rise may be more than 100 per cent in the cell as a whole, which is equivalent to several hundred per cent in the protoplasm alone. The rise becomes less as the cells stand in the laboratory, until a maximum is reached at all applied potentials, low and high, below the breakdown value (about 100 mv.): the cells are then said to be in a constant state. During the variable state, the resistance rises when the positive current enters the protoplasm from outside, and falls when it passes out from the vacuole (this is determined by killing one end with chloroform). The rise of resistance becomes faster with closely succeeding applications of potential. This is ascribed to the removal from the protoplasm of ions to which it is reversible. There is some evidence that these may be potassium ions. Much of the apparent resistance rise may be accounted for by a back E.M.F. caused by the flow of current.
Comparative Analysis of the σB-Dependent Stress Responses in Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua Strains Exposed to Selected Stress Conditions

The alternative sigma factor σB contributes to transcription of stress response and virulence genes in diverse gram-positive bacterial species. The composition and functions of the Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria innocua σB regulons were hypothesized to differ due to virulence differences between these closely related species. Transcript levels in stationary-phase cells and in cells exposed to salt stress were characterized by microarray analyses for both species. In L. monocytogenes, 168 genes were positively regulated by σB; 145 of these genes were preceded by a putative σB consensus promoter. In L. innocua, 64 genes were positively regulated by σB. σB contributed to acid stress survival in log-phase cells for both species but to survival in stationary-phase cells only for L. monocytogenes. In summary, (i) the L. monocytogenes σB regulon includes >140 genes that are both directly and positively regulated by σB, including genes encoding proteins with importance in stress response, virulence, transcriptional regulation, carbohydrate metabolism, and transport; (ii) a number of L. monocytogenes genes encoding flagellar proteins show higher transcript levels in the ΔsigB mutant, and both L. monocytogenes and L. innocua ΔsigB null mutants have increased motility compared to the respective isogenic parent strains, suggesting that σB affects motility and chemotaxis; and (iii) although L. monocytogenes and L. innocua differ in σB-dependent acid stress resistance and have species-specific σB-dependent genes, the L. monocytogenes and L. innocua σB regulons show considerable conservation, with a common set of at least 49 genes that are σB dependent in both species.
Improving our understanding of environmental controls on the distribution of C3 and C4 grasses.

A number of studies have demonstrated the ecological sorting of C3 and C4 grasses along temperature and moisture gradients. However, previous studies of C3 and C4 grass biogeography have often inadvertently compared species in different and relatively unrelated lineages, which are associated with different environmental settings and distinct adaptive traits. Such confounded comparisons of C3 and C4 grasses may bias our understanding of ecological sorting imposed strictly by photosynthetic pathway. Here, we used MaxEnt species distribution modeling in combination with satellite data to understand the functional diversity of C3 and C4 grasses by comparing both large clades and closely related sister taxa. Similar to previous work, we found that C4 grasses showed a preference for regions with higher temperatures and lower precipitation compared with grasses using the C3 pathway. However, air temperature differences were smaller (2 °C vs. 4 °C) and precipitation and % tree cover differences were larger (1783 mm vs. 755 mm, 21.3% vs. 7.7%, respectively) when comparing C3 and C4 grasses within the same clade vs. comparing all C4 and all C3 grasses (i.e., ignoring phylogenetic structure). These results were due to important differences in the environmental preferences of C3 BEP and PACMAD clades (the two main grass clades). Winter precipitation was found to be more important for understanding the distribution and environmental niche of C3 PACMADs in comparison with both C3 BEPs and C4 taxa, for which temperature was much more important. Results comparing closely related C3–C4 sister taxa supported the patterns derived from our modeling of the larger clade groupings. Our findings, which are novel in comparing the distribution and niches of clades, demonstrate that the evolutionary history of taxa is important for understanding the functional diversity of C3 and C4 grasses, and should have implications for how grasslands will respond to global change.
AVIAN COMMUNITIES IN FORESTED RIPARIAN WETLANDS OF SOUTHERN MICHIGAN, USA

Descriptive studies are an important first step in developing assessment models for regional wetland subclasses. Objectives of this study were to gather benchmark information on the composition and structure of vegetation from minimally impacted riparian forested wetland sites in Michigan, USA, and to determine if species composition of the breeding bird community and relative densities of individual species varied among riparian and adjacent upland forest zones. Plant species richness, dominance, and structure differed greatly between floodplain wetlands and uplands and were similar among zones within floodplain forests. Of 54 breeding bird species recorded through point count surveys (1998–99), 39 were observed in both floodplain and upland forests, while 11 were found only in floodplains and 4 solely in the uplands. Detectable patterns of avian density across riparian and upland forest zones were evident for 31 breeding species. Most species preferred areas closest to the river over other zones, although a few species were more prevalent within interior floodplains or uplands as compared to riverside forests. Forested riparian wetlands in this region act as essential breeding habitats for many avian species not often found in upland areas and are especially important for obligate riparian species and rare or declining breeding birds observed within our sites. These results are consistent with many studies across North America, where riparian forests have been found to support disproportionately large numbers of breeding bird species as compared to more xeric forests and other upland habitats.
Time in Education: Introduction

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles within the issue on impact of instructional time on academic achievement in schools, the gap between developed and developing countries in student outcomes, and need for policy on productive use of time in schools
Religion and Republicans: The Presidential Election of 2012

Religion has always played a major role in American politics. Although the tides of electoral politics may often turn on economic events, foreign policy crises or other “secular” issues, partisan coalitions in the past few decades have been structured by religious alliances that have been extraordinarily stable, with only marginal changes from election to election. Those marginal changes have, of course, produced dramatically different outcomes in presidential and congressional races, with Republican victories in 2004 and 2010, and Democratic triumphs in 2006 and 2008. And although one journalist proclaimed that “God was remarkably absent” from the 2012 presidential race, in fact religious questions played an important part in the lead-up to the November election in both parties.This paper considers the role of religious groups, issues and candidate strategies in the 2012 presidential race. First, we consider two broad perspectives that shape expert interpretation on that role, the ethnoreligious and restructuring theories. Then we examine briefly religious strategies in the 2008 election and the resulting pattern of religious group votes in that contest. As this pattern sets the context for both the Obama administration’s approach to religious groups and campaigns during his years in office and for competitive strategies by the GOP hopefuls, it is important to understand the nature of religious party coalitions. We then focus on the Republican nominating contest, discussing the cast of candidates, their religious strategies and the impact of those strategies. Finally, we turn briefly to the Democratic candidate’s religious strategy, arguing that Obama reluctantly made major changes in his approach to religious groups from that he followed in 2008, changes dictated both by his experiences in the politics of his first term and by the structure of campaign incentives.
The relation between fault plane solutions for earthquakes and the directions of the principal stresses

The stresses involved in shallow earthquakes and their occurrence along fault planes suggest that they occur by failure on weak planes, rather than by brittle fracture of a homogeneous material. Possible orientations of the stress tensor are examined to determine what limits fault plane solutions can place on the orientation of the greatest principal stress. For the general case of a triaxial stress, the only restriction is that this stress direction must lie in the quadrant containing P , but may be at right angles to the P direction. Thus shallow earthquakes impose a few limitations on the orientation of the stress tensor. In contrast the fault plane solutions from deep earthquakes are best explained by fracture of a homogeneous material, with the greatest principal stress directed down the dip of the earthquake zone.
On the Material Symmetry of Elastic Rods

This paper presents a treatment of material symmetry for hyperelastic rods. The rod theory of interest is based on a Cosserat (or directed) curve with two director fields, and was developed in a series of works by Green, Naghdi and several of their co-workers. The treatment is based on Murdoch and Cohen's work on material symmetry of Cosserat surfaces. Two material symmetry groups are discussed: one pertains to the strain-energy function, while the other pertains to the response functions. The paper closes by showing how the treatment relates to the form-invariant approach used in Green and Naghdi's papers and a treatment proposed recently by Cohen.
Programmer, interrupted

My thesis work has focused on collecting evidence about the impact of interruptions on programmers, understanding how programmers managed them in practice, and designing tools that can support interrupted programmers. My goal has been to combine insights from empirical observations with principles derived from cognitive theories. At this stage, I have prototyped several tools and am exploring the best ways to evaluate them.
Effects of Topsoil Storage During Surface Mining on the Viability of Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhiza

SUMMARYThe population levels of viable vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal inocula decreased following four years of topsoil storage when compared to three years storage of the same topsoil.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Greece.

The glutathione stability of red cells was estimated in 40 patients during acute hemolysis induced by fava beans. There were wide individual differences but in all cases except one (Case 18) the post-incubation GSH fell to levels below 40 mg. per cent packed RBC which is the lower normal limit. The GSH stability on 44 mothers and 37 fathers gave results consistent with the genetic hypothesis that in male patients the mother is the carrier of the biochemical defect, while in female patients both parents are carriers, since, as a rule, only female homozygotes suffer from hemolytic episodes. However, in only 77.7 per cent of the mothers could the biochemical defect be proved by this method. The Motulsky test was performed in 30 of the 40 patients. It gave abnormal decolorization times in 25 or 83 per cent of the cases. This test is therefore valuable for diagnosing "sensitivity" during a hemolytic episode; it is, nevertheless, less sensitive than the GSH stability method. The Motulsky test was also performed on 31 mothers, 18 fathers and 8 siblings. It proved to be unreliable in the detection of female heterozygotes. G-6-PD deficiency is widely disseminated in Greece; it is, however, not evenly distributed throughout the country. The highest frequency of G-6-PD deficiency found so far in males was about 3 per cent; the lowest was 0.7 per cent.
Recovering the role of reasoning in moral education to address inequity and social justice

AbstractThis article reasserts the centrality of reasoning as the focus for moral education. Attention to moral cognition must be extended to incorporate sociogenetic processes in moral growth. Moral education is not simply growth within the moral domain, but addresses capacities of students to engage in cross-domain coordination. Development beyond adolescence in moral thinking is in two forms: (1) the gradual application of morality in broader adult contexts, and (2) the result of social discourse and progressive readjustments at the individual and societal level of views of the morality of societal practices. Postconventional moral reasoning is not a rarified stage of moral cognition, but an orientation and set of discourse skills potentially available to all normally developing adult moral reasoners.
55 High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T and risk of hypertension

Background Hypertension is often preceded by cardiac structural abnormalities. Thus, we assessed whether high-sensitivity cardiac troponin-T (hs-cTNT), a marker of chronic subclinical myocardial damage, can identify persons at risk for hypertension or left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Methods and results We studied 6,516 ARIC Study participants, free of prevalent hypertension and cardiovascular disease at baseline (1990–1992). We examined the association of baseline hs-cTNT categories with incident diagnosed hypertension (defined by self-report of a diagnosis or medication use during a maximum of 19.9 years of follow-up) and with incident visit-based hypertension (defined by self-report, medication use, or measured BP >140/90 mmHg over 6 years). Relative to hs-cTNT Conclusion In an ambulatory population with no history of cardiovascular disease, hs-cTNT was associated with incident hypertension and risk of LVH. Further research is needed to determine whether hs-cTNT can identify persons who may benefit from ambulatory BP monitoring or hypertension prevention lifestyle strategies.