cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Red blood cell size is inversely associated with leukocyte telomere length in a large multi-ethnic population.

Although mutations in the genes encoding either the protein or RNA component of telomerase have been found in patients with various blood disorders, the impact of telomere length on hematopoiesis is less well understood for subjects from the general population. Here we have measured telomere lengths of genomic DNA isolated from circulating leukocytes of 3157 subjects, ranging from 18 to 85 years of age, enrolled in a large multiethnic population based study, the Dallas Heart Study 2. Shorter telomere lengths are marginally associated with lower red blood cell counts in this cohort, but are significantly associated with larger mean red blood cell size (as measured by the MCV), increased red blood cell distribution width (RDW), higher hemoglobin levels and lower platelet counts, even after correction for age, gender and ethnicity (p-values of 50 years vs. p = 0.0006 for <50 years of age). To our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between telomere length and red cell size in a large urban US population and suggests a biologic mechanism for macrocytosis of aging.
The principal eosinophil peroxidase product, HOSCN, is a uniquely potent phagocyte oxidant inducer of endothelial cell tissue factor activity: a potential mechanism for thrombosis in eosinophilic inflammatory states.

In vivo, bromide (Br–), nitrite (NO2–), and thiocyanate (SCN–) compete for oxidation by eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and H2O2, yielding, respectively, HOBr, NO2·, and HOSCN. We have recently shown that SCN– is the strongly preferred substrate for EPO in vivo and that HOSCN, in contrast with other EPO-generated oxidants and HOCl, is a relatively weak, cell-permeant, sulfhydryl (SH)–reactive oxidant. We here show that HOSCN is a uniquely potent (up to 100-fold) phagocyte oxidant inducer of tissue factor (TF) activity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). This induction is attributable to transcriptional up-regulation of TF gene expression dependent upon both activation of the p65/c-Rel TF-κB transcription factor and activity of the ERK1/2 kinase pathway upstream of Egr-1 and was markedly further enhanced in the presence of wortmannin, an inhibitor of the PI3 kinase/Akt pathway. HOSCN also markedly activates the proinflammatory p65/p50 NF-κB pathway. Based on these findings we hypothesize that HOSCN generated by adherent and infiltrating eosinophils may provoke the development of a prothrombotic and proinflammatory endothelial/endocardial phenotype that promotes the pronounced thrombotic diathesis characteristic of the hypereosinophilic syndrome.
Ion Pair Interactions in Aqueous Solution: Self-Consistent Reaction Field (SCRF) Calculations with Some Explicit Water Molecules

Ion pair interactions in aqueous solution and the role of explicit water molecules have been investigated using ab initio self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) calculations with and without some explicit water molecules. Both the Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM) and the Self-Consistent Isodensity surface Polarizable Continuum Model (SCIPCM) were used for this study. The results suggest that the inclusion of explicit water molecules on hydrogen bonding sites on a solute and the use of a continuum model to complete the hydration environment is more accurate than a continuum model alone. This procedure is also computationally more economical than an explicit bulk water model to represent ion pair interactions in aqueous solution. The results also demonstrate that the SCIPCM method is superior to the PCM method for the interaction of ion pairs, and that the PCM method should not be used for oppositely charged ion pairs until further improvements are introduced.
A computational procedure for obtaining a polynomial representation from state equations

This paper presents a new procedure for determining, from the state equations, the factored matrix form of the transfer matrix of a linear time-invariant system given in state variable form. The procedure is conceptually straightforward and demonstrates a connection between the desired representation and the representation of a lower order imbedded subsystem. Applying the basic procedure recursively leads to a computational algorithm for determining the desired representation. The algorithm differs from those presented previously in that explicit computation of a controllabillty or observability matrix is not required.
An instructional DVD fall-prevention program for patients with cancer and family caregivers

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Determine the efficacy of a fall-prevention skills training program for patients with cancer and family caregivers. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial with repeated measures and postintervention measure of fall occurrence. SETTING: A comprehensive cancer center in the midwestern United States. SAMPLE: 132 patient and family caregiver dyads. METHODS: Dyads were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a control group that received standard fall-prevention education or a treatment group that received standard education and a fall-prevention DVD program to view at home. Participants completed surveys at baseline, one week, one month, and three months. Follow-up phone calls were made at three months. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Fall occurrence, perceptions of fall risks, and fall-prevention knowledge. FINDINGS: Patients in the treatment group were significantly more likely to report not falling at three months than patients in the control group. The number of falls was lower for the treatment group. The difference was not statistically significant. Dyads in the treatment group showed significantly greater improvement over time in fall risk awareness and fall-prevention knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Mobility skills training is a promising educational intervention for reducing fall occurrences in the home for patients with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Efforts are needed for improving the knowledge and skills of cancer survivors and their family members in recognizing patient fall risks, making home adjustments, and performing mobility skills competently. Language: en
Thermal constraints on the distribution of long-lived radioactive elements in the Earth

Geochemical data show that radioactive heat production in the crust plus upper mantle (which is defined seismically to terminate at a depth of 415 km) cannot account for the heat escaping from the Earth. Deeper sources must be invoked, and a number of qualitative models of the variation of radioactive heat generation with depth are suggested. Preferred models involve a narrow zone of high heat production about halfway between the crust and the core.
Mutations of the mitochondrially encoded ATPase 6 gene modeled in the ATP synthase of Escherichia coli

Defects of respiratory chain protein complexes and the ATP synthase are becoming increasingly implicated in human disease. Recently, mutations in the ATPase 6 gene have been shown to cause several different neurological disorders. The product of this gene is homologous to the a subunit of the ATP synthase of Escherichia coli. Here, mutations equivalent to those described in humans have been introduced into the a subunit of E. coli by site-directed mutagenesis, and the effects of these mutations on the ATPase activity, ATP synthesis and ability of the enzyme to pump protons studied in detail. The effects of the mutations varied considerably. The mutation L262P (9185 T-C equivalent) caused a 70% loss of ATP synthesis activity, reduced DCCD sensitivity, and lowered proton pumping activity. The L207P (8993 T-C equivalent) reduced ATP synthesis by 50%, affected DCCD sensitivity, while proton pumping was only marginally affected when measured by the standard AMCA quenching assay. The other mutations studied affected the functioning of the ATP synthase much less. The results confirm that modeling of these point mutations in the E. coli enzyme is a useful approach to determining how alterations in the ATPase 6 gene affect enzyme function and, therefore, how a pathogenic effect can be exerted.
Transient Imprint Memory Effect in MOS Memories

This work reports on a transient effect which caused a pattern stored in a MOS memory to be imprinted when exposed to a high dose rate. The imprinted pattern can be restored in the memory by simply exposing the device with the complementary pattern in it to a single pulse with a dose rate in excess of the upset threshold. CMOS/SOS memories of 5T and 6T storage cell design and CMOS/BULK samples were tested for this effect. The Boeing LINAC was used to provide 10 MeV electron pulses of 20 ns width. Results showed that the magnitude of the "Transient Imprint Memory Effect" depended on the accumulated dose delivered by radiation pulses. The data upset threshold increased when the stored pattern was maintained constant for repeated exposures during the imprint procedure.
Development of a multiphase shock tube for energetic materials characterization.

A novel multiphase shock tube to study particle dynamics in gas-solid flows has been constructed and tested. Currently, there is a gap in data for flows having particle volume fractions between the dusty and granular regimes. The primary purpose of this new facility is to fill that gap by providing high quality data of shock-particle interactions in flows having dense gas particle volume fractions. Towards this end, the facility aims to drive a shock into a spatially isotropic field, or curtain, of particles. Through bench-top experimentation, a method emerged for achieving this challenging task that involves the use of a gravity-fed contoured particle seeder. The seeding method is capable of producing fields of spatially isotropic particles having volume fractions of about 1 to 35%. The use of the seeder in combination with the shock tube allows for the testing of the impingement of a planar shock on a dense field of particles. The first experiments in the multiphase shock tube have been conducted and the facility is now operational.
Liquid Dielectrics in an Electric Field

STUDIES of pure liquid dielectrics under the influence of relatively intense electric fields reveal a phenomenon of mass transfer. Two variations of liquid displacement are possible. One is called cross-field displacement. It may be produced by partially immersing two rod-like electrodes in a liquid dielectric. The other is called co-field displacement. This type of mass transfer may be produced by immersing energized electrodes made of parallel screens in the dielectric liquid. Fig. 1 shows a simple cell for cross-field displacement.
A fundamental understanding of nickel oxide based resistive random access memory with high percentage of oxygen

Abstract In this paper, we report the fundamental properties of NiO x based Resistive RAM (RRAM) devices with Al top electrode and Ni bottom electrode. The NiO x deposition was performed in a relatively high oxygen environment. The initial J – V curves in positive and negative bias indicated symmetric behavior in spite of a significant difference in the vacuum work functions of Al and Ni. The capacitance–voltage characterizations indicated NiO x to be a p-type semiconductor with acceptor doping density between 6 × 10 18 cm −3 and 5 × 10 20 cm −3 . Switching behavior was observed after electroforming the devices. The devices failed after multiple switching cycles by switching into a relatively low conductive state. The mechanism of failure was attributed to the formation of Al 2 O 3 due to a slow oxidation of Al electrodes with repeated cycles.
[Gd(CyPic3A)(H2O)2]−: a stable, bis(aquated) and high-relaxivity Gd(III) complex

We report the synthesis and MR relevant properties of CyPic3A, a heptadentate chelator that forms ternary Gd(III) complexes of hydration state q = 2. [Gd(CyPic3A)(H2O)2]− affords an r1 value of 5.70 mM−1 s−1 at 1.41 T and 310 K and displays thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness comparable to FDA approved MR imaging probes.
Intersubunit hydrogen bond acts as a global molecular switch in Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Tyr 165 in the catalytic subunit of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase, EC 2.1.3.2) forms an intersubunit hydrogen bond in the T state with Glu 239 in the 240s loop of a second catalytic subunit, which is broken in the T to R transition. Substitution of Tyr 165 by Phe lowers substrate affinity by approximately an order of magnitude and alters the pH profile for enzyme function. We have determined the crystal structure of Y165F at 2.4 A resolution by molecular replacement, using a wild-type T state structure as the probe, and refined it to an R value of 25.2%. The Y165F mutation induces a global conformational change that is in the opposite direction to the T to R transition and therefore results in an extreme T state. The two catalytic trimers move closer by approximately 0.14 A and rotate by approximately 0.2 degrees , in the opposite direction to the T-->R rotation; the two domains of each catalytic chain rotate by approximately 2.1 degrees, also in the opposite direction to the T-->R transition; and the 240s loop adopts a new conformation. Residues 229 to 236 shift by approximately 2.4 A so that the active site is more open. Residues 237 to 244 rotate by approximately 24.1 degrees, altering interactions within the 240s loop and at the C1-C4 and C1-R4 interfaces. Arg 167, a key residue in domain closure and interactions with L-Asp, swings out from the active site to interact with Tyr 197. This crystal structure is consistent with the functional properties of Y165F, expands our knowledge of the conformational repertoire of ATCase, and indicates that the canonical T state does not represent an extreme.
Global Variability in Subduction Thrust Zone-Forearc Systems

Deviations of slip vector azimuths of interplate thrust earthquakes from expected plate convergence directions at oblique subduction zones provide kinematic information about the deformation of forearcs and indirect evidence on the dynamics of the plate boundary. A global survey of slip vectors at major trenches of the world reveals a large variability in the kinematic response of forearcs to shear produced by oblique convergence. The variability in forearc deformation inferred from slip vector deflections is suggested to be caused by variations in forearc rheology rather than in the stresses acting on subduction zone thrust faults. Estimated apparent macroscopic rheologies range from elastic to perfectly plastic (or viscous). Forearc rheologies inferred from slip vectors do not correlate with age of the subducting lithosphere, but continental forearcs or old arcs appear to deform less than oceanic or young arcs. The inferred absence of forearc deformation at continental arcs from this study is counter to inferences drawn from compiled geologic information on forearc faults. Correlations of the apparent forearc rheology with backarc spreading, convergence rate, slab dip, arc curvature, and downdip length of the thrust contact are poor. However, great subduction zone earthquakes occur where forearcs are apparently more elastic (i.e., less deformed by oblique convergence), which suggests that the mechanical properties of forearcs rather than stress magnitude on thrust faults control both the kinematic behavior of forearcs and where great subduction zone earthquakes occur.
Plasminogen activator inhibitor activity, 4G5G polymorphism of the plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 gene, and first-trimester miscarriage in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Abstract We assessed whether hypofibrinolytic plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1 activity) showed an independent association with first-trimester miscarriage in the 430 women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who had previous pregnancies (from a cohort of 967 women with PCOS). Prospectively, we hypothesized that Glucophage (Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ) promotes successful live births in women with PCOS by lowering PAI-1 activity before conception and maintaining further reductions of PAI-1 activity during the first trimester of pregnancy. We also assessed whether PAI-1 activity levels were independently related to PAI-1 genotype and to modifiable risk factors body mass index (BMI), insulin, and triglyceride. By stepwise logistic regression, with the dependent variable being previous pregnancy outcomes at 3 levels (live birth pregnancies only [n = 208]; both ≥1 live birth and ≥1 first-trimester miscarriage [n = 111]; or first-trimester miscarriages only [n = 71]) and explanatory variables PAI-1 genotype, PAI-1 activity, insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, BMI, and triglyceride, PAI-1 activity was positively associated with first-trimester miscarriage (P = .004). For each 5 IU/mL increment in PAI-1 activity, the risk being in an adverse first-trimester miscarriage category increased (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.20). Prospectively, from pretreatment to the last preconception visit on Glucophage, in 30 women who subsequently had live births, PAI-1 activity fell 44%, but rose 19% in 23 women with first-trimester miscarriage (P = .03). In the 30 women with live birth pregnancies, median PAI-1 activity fell continuously from pretreatment through the first trimester (from 16.8 to 6.7 IU/mL), whereas PAI-1 activity was either unchanged or rose in women with first-trimester miscarriage. Of the 921 women with PCOS who had 4G5G data, 718 (78%) had 4G4G-4G5G genotypes vs 87 (69%) of 126 normal female controls (χ2 = 4.95, P = .026). The 4G allele frequency was 53% in women with PCOS vs 46% in controls (χ2 = 4.3, P = .04). Of the 866 women with PCOS who had PAI-1 activity data, by stepwise regression, positive independent determinants of PAI-1 activity included BMI (partial R2 = 10.6%, P
Emotions And Behavior: Exercises In Emotional Intelligence

This article describes “emotional intelligence” and shows how to integrate emotional intelligence, and emotional skills training, into an undergraduate course. It provides background information on emotions and behavior that is useful in understanding emotional intelligence, how emotions may affect people’s behavior, and the relevance of this topic to interpersonal and organizational behavior. Incorporating examples from classroom activities, the article describes three teaching exercises that have proven useful in conveying a sense of the basic precepts of emotional intelligence to students and in helping students develop skills in emotionally intelligent behavior.
Micromolding three-dimensional amorphous metal structures

In this article, we report a simple and inexpensive approach to micromolding of complex, three-dimensional, high aspect ratio structures (with non-line-of-sight features) out of a high-strength amorphous metal. Inexpensive sacrificial silicon molds were created using lithography and etching techniques originally developed for integrated circuit production by the microelectronics industry and later adopted for microelectromechanical (MEMS) manufacturing. Multiple silicon layers were stacked, and the metallic glass was forced into the cavities under heat and pressure in an open air environment. Following cooling, the metallic structures were released by etching the silicon away in a potassium hydroxide (KOH) bath. Process studies showed that temperature is the most significant variable governing mold-filling. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sections of the mold/glass interface showed successful replication of features with characteristic dimensions on the order of 10 nanometers and no discernible gap between the silicon and the metallic glass. This scalable micromolding process leverages the inexpensive and readily available aspects of silicon lithography to economically support the mass customization (low volume production) of metal microcomponents without elaborate infrastructure needs.
Effects of fire on small mammal communities in frequent-fire forests in California

Fire is a natural, dynamic process that is integral to maintaining ecosystem function. The reintroduction of fire (e.g., prescribed fire, managed wildfire) is a critical management tool for protecting many frequent-fire forests against standreplacing fires while restoring an essential ecological process. Understanding the effects of fire on forests and wildlife communities is important in natural resource planning efforts. Small mammals are key components of forest food webs and essential to ecosystem function. To investigate the relationship of fire to small mammal assemblages, we live trapped small mammals in 10 burned and 10 unburned forests over 2 years in the central Sierra Nevada, California. Small mammal abundance was higher in unburned forests, largely reflecting the greater proportion of closed-canopy species such as Glaucomys sabrinus in unburned forests. The most abundant species across the entire study area was the highly adaptable generalist species, Peromyscus maniculatus. Species diversity was similar between burned and unburned forests, but burned forests were characterized by greater habitat heterogeneity and higher small mammal species evenness. The use and reintroduction of fire to maintain a matrix of burn severities, including large patches of unburned refugia, creates a heterogeneous and resilient landscape that allows for fire-sensitive species to proliferate and, as such, may help maintain key ecological functions and diverse small mammal assemblages.
Timing of final GnRH of the Ovsynch protocol affects ovulatory follicle size, subsequent luteal function, and fertility in dairy cows

Synchronization of ovulation (Ovsynch) is an effective method for controlling time of first and subsequent AI in lactating dairy cows. However, validation of the original Ovsynch program did not include testing the optimal time to deliver the final treatment of GnRH. In Experiment 1, the effect of administering the final dose of GnRH on the same day as prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) administration was tested. Lactating dairy cows (n = 218) were randomly assigned to receive either Ovsynch (OV; cows were given 100 microg GnRH, then 7 days later cows were administered 25mg PGF2alpha followed by a subsequent treatment of 100 microg GnRH 2 days after the PGF2alpha or the modified version of Ovsynch (MOV; cows were given 100 microg GnRH, then 7 days later cows were administered 25mg PGF2alpha followed immediately with 100 microg GnRH). In both treatment groups, AI took place 16 h after the final administration of GnRH. In Experiment 2, cows (n = 457) were randomly divided into four treatment groups that were administered GnRH 0, 12, 24 and 36 h following PGF(2alpha). The 36 h treatment group served as control. Pregnancy diagnoses were performed by palpation per rectum 36 days post-AI in Experiment 1 and by ultrasonography on Day 28 in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, pregnancy rate/AI (PR/AI) was greater (P 0.1) between OV and MOV, respectively. All cows that became pregnant in the MOV subset group showed regression of the CL in response to the PGF2alpha. Diameter of the ovulatory follicle at the time of final GnRH administration was greater (P 0.28). There was a linear effect of treatment on follicle size (P<0.05) and PR/AI (P<0.0001) as time increased between administration of PGF2alpha and GnRH, with the greatest PR/AI at 36 h. There was a trend for a greater percentage of cows with short luteal phases in the 0 h group (P<0.10). In summary, delivering the final treatment of GnRH of the Ovsynch program at the same time as PGF2alpha, or in the 24h following PGF2alpha, resulted in lower fertility compared to controls.
A method of removal of specific antibody from immunized rabbits.

SummaryA method is described for the removal of specific antibody from immunized animals. Rabbits were passively immunized with antibody to BSA and bacteriophage φX. Their blood was exposed to bromoacetyl cellulose-BSA thru an extracorporeal circulation or the immunoadsorbent was mixed with large aliquots of their serum in vitro before returning the serum to them. Both of these methods resulted in a 32-84% reduction of circulating anti-BSA with little or no effect on anti-φX.
Anaplasma phagocytophilum surface protein AipA mediates invasion of mammalian host cells.

Summary Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which causes granulocytic anaplasmosis in humans and animals, is a tick-transmitted obligate intracellular bacterium that mediates its own uptake into neutrophils and non-phagocytic cells. Invasins of obligate intracellular pathogens are attractive targets for protecting against or curing infection because blocking the internalization step prevents survival of these organisms. The complement of A. phagocytophilum invasins is incompletely defined. Here, we report the significance of a novel A. phagocytophilum invasion protein, AipA. A. phagocytophilum induced aipA expression during transmission feeding of infected ticks on mice. The bacterium upregulated aipA transcription when it transitioned from its non-infectious reticulate cell morphotype to its infectious dense-cored morphotype during infection of HL-60 cells. AipA localized to the bacterial surface and was expressed during in vivo infection. Of the AipA regions predicted to be surface-exposed, only residues 1 to 87 (AipA1–87) were found to be essential for host cell invasion. Recombinant AipA1–87 protein bound to and competitively inhibited A. phagocytophilum infection of mammalian cells. Antiserum specific for AipA1–87, but not other AipA regions, antagonized infection. Additional blocking experiments using peptide-specific antisera narrowed down the AipA invasion domain to residues 9 to 21. An antisera combination targeting AipA1–87 together with two other A. phagocytophilum invasins, OmpA and Asp14, nearly abolished infection of host cells. This study identifies AipA as an A. phagocytophilum surface protein that is critical for infection, demarcates its invasion domain, and establishes a rationale for targeting multiple invasins to protect against granulocytic anaplasmosis.
Accelerating DNA sequencing-by-hybridization with noise

As a potential alternative to current wet-lab technologies, DNA sequencing-by-hybridization (SBH) has received much attention from different research communities. In order to deal with real applications, experiment environments should not be considered as error-free. Previously, under the assumption of random independent hybridization errors, Leong et al. [9] presented an algorithm for sequence reconstruction which exhibits graceful degradation of output accuracy as the error rate increases. However, as the authors also admitted, a notable downside of their method is its too high computational cost. In this paper, we show that the poor efficiency of [9] is due to its mixing-up of situations with widely different characteristics and treating everything in the safest but also slowest way. Our new algorithm addresses this problem and pushes analysis down to a finer level where a more effective solution is proposed. As demonstrated by experimentations on real human genome datasets, this new methodology yields significant performance improvements and at the same time guarantees almost the same degree of output accuracy.
Redefining Self And Success: Becoming Teachers And Doctors

This study explores how twenty‐eight women graduates of a liberal arts college renegotiate personal and professional identities over a ten year period. Approximately half of these women entered college planning to pursue a career in medicine; the other half indicated some interest in the field of education. Each participant was interviewed six times over the course of ten years. Analysis suggests that prior designations of women's careers as “traditional” (i.e. teaching) and “non‐traditional” (i.e. medicine) no longer apply as women actively reconceptualize their lives, their identities, their definitions of success, and the meaning of their chosen career. Prior studies that examine the balancing of personal and professional lives also simplify a more complicated process experienced by women who explore multiple understandings of themselves within personal and social structures. The women in this study draw on the critical perspectives learned in college as they recognize and respond to competing social a...
Theory of two-photon interactions with broadband down-converted light and entangled photons

When two-photon interactions are induced by down-converted light with a bandwidth that exceeds the pump bandwidth, they can obtain a behavior that is pulselike temporally, yet spectrally narrow. At low photon fluxes this behavior reflects the time and energy entanglement between the down-converted photons. However, two-photon interactions such as two-photon absorption (TPA) and sum-frequency generation (SFG) can exhibit such a behavior even at high power levels, as long as the final state (i.e., the atomic level in TPA, or the generated light in SFG) is narrow-band enough. This behavior does not depend on the squeezing properties of the light, is insensitive to linear losses, and has potential applications. In this paper we describe analytically this behavior for traveling-wave down conversion with continuous or pulsed pumping, both for high- and low-power regimes. For this we derive a quantum-mechanical expression for the down-converted amplitude generated by an arbitrary pump, and formulate operators that represent various two-photon interactions induced by broadband light. This model is in excellent agreement with experimental results of TPA and SFG with high-power down-converted light and with entangled photons [Dayan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 023005 (2004); 94, 043602 (2005); Pe'er et al., ibid. 94, 073601 (2005)].
Space-Variant Image Formation*

The application of optical transfer theory to the process of image formation requires that the image-forming system be linear and space invariant. In a space-invariant system, the point image retains its shape while the point source explores the object plane. The purpose of this paper is to investigate image-forming systems which are linear but space variant. Such systems may exceed performance limitations which are inherent in linear space-invariant systems. A method for experimentally determining space variance is devised. The degree of space invariance is defined and evaluated for several examples of space-variant systems.
Comparison of the performance of different bioassessment methods: similar evaluations of biotic integrity from separate programs and procedures

Regional bioassessment programs of states, various federal agencies, and other governmental and private groups often use different methods to collect and analyze stream invertebrate samples. This lack of uniformity has created concern and confusion over the comparability of disparate sources of data, but few studies have attempted to evaluate differences in performance between methods or to reconcile the results produced from different methods. We conducted concurrent sampling at 40 sites in the eastern Sierra Nevada of California using 3 bioassessment methods to obtain directly comparable data sets. The riffle- based methods (University of California Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (UC-SNARL, Lahontan Water Board), California Stream Bioassessment Protocol, and US Forest Service Region 5) differed at each stage from field sample collection to laboratory processing and data analysis. We used a performance-based methods system to compare precision, uniformity, discrimination, accuracy, and correlations among multimetric Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) scores and multivariate River Invertebrate Prediction and Classification System (RIVPACS)-type observed/expected (O/E) ratios. Reference and test sites were identified using local and upstream-watershed disturbance criteria, and invertebrate community measures and models were then developed to discriminate between reference and test sites. The more- intensive UC-SNARL method showed slightly, but consistently, greater sensitivity for discriminating impairment than the other 2 methods. The UC-SNARL method produced greater differences between reference- and test-site means relative to lower reference-site standard deviations than the other 2 methods. However, assessment scores were highly correlated among methods and distinguished reference from test sites with similar accuracy among methods despite the slight differences in performance. Our results show that differing bioassessment methods can yield very similar, effective discrimination of impaired biological condition even though they have multiple differences in field and laboratory protocols (mesh size, replication, area sampled, taxonomic resolution, total counts). Moreover, this conclusion did not depend on the approach taken to data analysis because both multimetric IBIs and multivariate RIVPACS-type O/Es were in close agreement. Methodological uniformity is important when coordinating monitoring programs, but our results suggest that data from multiple sources could potentially be used interchangeably and for cross-validation of assessments of stream biological integrity.
Potential Bias in Predictive Validity of Universal Screening Measures Across Disaggregation Subgroups

Universal screening measures are an integral component of any tiered system of instructional delivery. Recent studies of screening measures have often excluded examinations of bias in predictive validity. The present study examined a common screening instrument for evidence of bias in predictive validity across the four disaggregation categories of the No Child Left Behind Act. Performance of 3,805 students in Grades 1-3 on the Nonsense Word Fluency and Oral Reading Fluency measures of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills were examined cross-sectionally in relation to a state criterion-referenced test. Bias in predictive validity was found, but varied by grade and by disaggregation category. Implications are discussed.
Non-invasive differential diagnosis of dental periapical lesions in cone-beam CT

This paper proposes a novel application of computer-aided diagnosis to a clinically significant dental problem: non-invasive differential diagnosis of periapical lesions using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The proposed semi-automatic solution combines graph-theoretic random walks segmentation and machine learning-based LDA and AdaBoost classifiers. Our quantitative experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed method by demonstrating 94.1% correct classification rate. Furthermore, we compare classification performances with two independent ground-truth sets from the biopsy and CBCT diagnoses. ROC analysis reveals our method improves accuracy for both cases and behaves more in agreement with the CBCT diagnosis, supporting a hypothesis presented in a recent clinical report.
Age changes in the lumbar intervertebral disc studied with magnetic resonance and cryomicrotomy

This is an original evaluation made on the correlation between sagittal gross and histologic cryomicrotome sections and magnetic resonance (MR) images of the lumbar intervertebral discs according to age groups. Age-related structural changes were recognized in the anatomic sections and MR images of the discs in cadavers from birth to 73 years of age. In T2-weighted MR images, the nucleus and fibrocartilaginous inner anulus have a bright signal while the peripheral annular fibers have a low signal intensity. With aging the discs become progressively more fibrous: the peripheral anulus widens and becomes densely fibrous and the inner anulus extends centrally to encroach upon the nucleus, sometimes producing a bilobed nucleus. In the newborn the components of the disc are sharply demarcated with a large, centrally located nucleus pulposus and a relatively narrow anulus fibrosus. In the adult, the nucleus and inner anulus continue to have a relatively bright signal in MR images and characteristically contain a dark band of low signal intensity which does not correspond to clefts or tears of the disc but to increased fibrous tissue content. The thickened peripheral annular fibers have a very low signal intensity. By the eighth decade of life the discs have a very high fibrous content throughout, indicated in MR images by a decreased signal intensity with no sharp distinction between nucleus and anulus in the anatomic sections. The dark band in the central portion of the disc remains as a characteristic feature in MR images of the adult disc. Degenerative changes in the discs are identified in MR images by contrasting signal intensities.
Injury prevention and poverty

Dr Pless’s editorial on injury prevention and terrorism in the October issue of the journal addresses perhaps the two most pressing problems of society at this time—poverty and terrorism.1 For us in the field …
Transcriptional Response to Acute Thermal Exposure in Juvenile Chinook Salmon Determined by RNAseq

Thermal exposure is a serious and growing challenge facing fish species worldwide. Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) living in the southern portion of their native range are particularly likely to encounter warmer water due to a confluence of factors. River alterations have increased the likelihood that juveniles will be exposed to warm water temperatures during their freshwater life stage, which can negatively impact survival, growth, and development and pose a threat to dwindling salmon populations. To better understand how acute thermal exposure affects the biology of salmon, we performed a transcriptional analysis of gill tissue from Chinook salmon juveniles reared at 12° and exposed acutely to water temperatures ranging from ideal to potentially lethal (12° to 25°). Reverse-transcribed RNA libraries were sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq2000 platform and a de novo reference transcriptome was created. Differentially expressed transcripts were annotated using Blast2GO and relevant gene clusters were identified. In addition to a high degree of downregulation of a wide range of genes, we found upregulation of genes involved in protein folding/rescue, protein degradation, cell death, oxidative stress, metabolism, inflammation/immunity, transcription/translation, ion transport, cell cycle/growth, cell signaling, cellular trafficking, and structure/cytoskeleton. These results demonstrate the complex multi-modal cellular response to thermal stress in juvenile salmon.
DNA methylation arrays as surrogate measures of cell mixture distribution

Background: There has been a long-standing need in biomedical research for a method that quantifies the normally mixed composition of leukocytes beyond what is possible by simple histological or flow cytometric assessments. The latter is restricted by the labile nature of protein epitopes, requirements for cell processing, and timely cell analysis. In a diverse array of diseases and following numerous immune-toxic exposures, leukocyte composition will critically inform the underlying immuno-biology to most chronic medical conditions. Emerging research demonstrates that DNA methylation is responsible for cellular differentiation, and when measured in whole peripheral blood, serves to distinguish cancer cases from controls. Results: Here we present a method, similar to regression calibration, for inferring changes in the distribution of white blood cells between different subpopulations (e.g. cases and controls) using DNA methylation signatures, in combination with a previously obtained external validation set consisting of signatures from purified leukocyte samples. We validate the fundamental idea in a cell mixture reconstruction experiment, then demonstrate our method on DNA methylation data sets from several studies, including data from a Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) study and an ovarian cancer study. Our method produces results consistent with prior biological findings, thereby validating the approach. Conclusions: Our method, in combination with an appropriate external validation set, promises new opportunities for large-scale immunological studies of both disease states and noxious exposures.
How Smokers Became Outlaws: An Application Of The Stakeholder Salience Model To A Social Problem

Smoking bans have gone from being essentially non-existent to being the norm over the course of the last 50 years. When some of these authors started teaching, it was the norm to smoke in the classroom, in hospitals, on airplanes, in prison and in the office. Times have changed—smoking is no longer allowed in these locations in the United States. In this paper, an overview of the history of smoking advocacy, the impacts of smoke-free legislation on different stakeholders, and changes in public perceptions of smoking are provided. Mitchell and Agle’s 1997 Stakeholder Salience Model are used to illustrate the changes over time in stakeholder status for both smokers and nonsmokers. The Mitchell Model could have been useful to predict the change in status that the two stakeholder groups experienced and the authors suggest that management should note the emergence of urgent stakeholders in the future, as they may gain salience in other matters that can impact company wealth. Firms have to be aware of both their customers’ needs (smokers) as well as other social movements that may affect the use of their product, such as nonsmoking legislation. This is the first paper to apply stakeholder salience, including the concepts of urgency, power, and legitimacy, to the changing fortunes of smokers. It looks at how smoking and smokers have gone from the norm in U.S. society to outlaw status.
Insider Trading: What We Know and What We Don't Know

This article examines six topics in insider trading: (1) How significant is insider trading? (2) What are the profits earned by insider trading? (3) Why is insider trading of concern to the SEC and others? (4) How is insider trading related to the takeover of a company? (5) What are the major ethical arguments against insider trading and how valid are they? (6) Who is or is not harmed (or helped) by insider trading? I argue that the amount of insider trading is not significant compared to the total value of all trading. I argue that profits to insider trading can't be measured, but what we do know of them suggests they are trivial compared to, for example, bank fraud losses or consumer losses due to steel subsidies. Since Congress has traditionally been unconcerned with insider trading but the SEC has, I argue that the SEC's zeal benefits investment bankers and others. I argue that the takeover industry has incentives to maintain secrecy, and that the SEC and others have smeared takeovers by associating them with inside information. I argue that none of the ethical arguments against insider trading hold up under scrutiny. Finally, I argue that only in certain cases where information is owned and protected can one make a case for either theft or breaking a contract.
Assessment of mineral nutrient concentrations of lettuce in response to cultivar selection and fertilization in greenhouse production

ABSTRACTMineral nutrient contents in vegetable-based foods are a concern in human diets, and depleted soil fertility and high-yielding cultivars are associated with low nutrient contents. This study explored if mineral nutrient concentrations of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) can be increased though selection of cultivars and nutritional regimes in greenhouse production. Cultivars including butterhead, romaine, and loose-leaf phenotypes of heritage and modern origins were studied. Hoagland solution, a commercial inorganic fertilizer, and a commercial organic fertilizer were the nutrient regimes. Heritage cultivars had about 10% higher phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc (P, K, Ca, Mg, and Zn) concentrations than modern cultivars. Differences in elemental concentrations occurred among phenotypes and nutritional regimes but with no consistent trend among elements for phenotypes or regimes. Some cultivars had twice the concentrations of nutrients of other cultivars. This work suggests that culti...
Gelation and Mesophase Formation of Cellulose in NH3/NH4SCN

ABSTRACTWe report DSC, optical microscopy and Theological data characterizing gels formed from solutions of cellulose in the NH3/NH4SCN (24. 5/75. 5 w/w) solvent. The system shows similarity with the behavior of gelatin in H2O, but also shows the occurrence of liquid crystalline order. The gelation of LC mesophases has great relevance to self-assembly of biopolymers. Yet the underlying fundamental process is still poorly understood. Two possible mechanisms are considered.
Alcohol use, risky sexual behavior, and condom possession among bar patrons.

Abstract Purpose The current study seeks to: 1) assess the relationship between alcohol consumption and intentions to engage in unprotected sex in an uncontrolled environment, and 2) to identify if covariates (race, age, sex, breath alcohol content (BrAC), intentions to engage in sex, hazardous drinking rates) are significant predictors of condom possession during time of uncontrolled alcohol consumption. Methods Data were collected from 917 bar patrons to assess alcohol use using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C), BrAC levels, intentions to engage in risky sex, and condom possession. Correlational analysis and hierarchical binary logistic regression was conducted using SPSS. Results Correlational analyses indicated a negative relationship between AUDIT-C scores (r = − 0.115, p = 0.001), BrAC (r = − 0.08, p = 0.015), and intentions to use a condom. Over 70% of participants intended to use a condom if they engaged in sex; however, only 28.4% had a condom to use. The regression analysis indicated the predictive model (χ2 = 114.5, df = 8, p Conclusions Alcohol consumption was associated with intentions to have unprotected sex; however, intentions to engage in protected sex and condom possession were higher for males and those with higher BrAC levels.
Application of fast-scan cyclic voltammetry for the in vivo characterization of optically evoked dopamine in the olfactory tubercle of the rat brain.

The olfactory tubercle (OT), as a component of the ventral striatum, serves as an important multisensory integration center for reward-related processes in the brain. Recent studies show that dense dopaminergic innervation from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) into the OT may play an outsized role in disorders such as psychostimulant addiction and disorders of motivation, increasing recent scientific interest in this brain region. However, due to its anatomical inaccessibility, relative small size, and proximity to other dopamine-rich structures, neurochemical assessments using conventional methods cannot be readily employed. Here, we investigated dopamine (DA) regulation in the OT of urethane-anesthetized rats using in vivo fast-scan voltammetry (FSCV) coupled with carbon–fiber microelectrodes, following optogenetic stimulation of the VTA. The results were compared with DA regulation in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a structure located adjacent to the OT and which also receives dense DA innervation from the VTA. FSCV coupled with optically evoked release allowed us to investigate the spatial distribution of DA in the OT and characterize OT DA dynamics (release and clearance) with subsecond temporal and micrometer spatial resolution for the first time. In this study, we demonstrated that DA transporters play an important role in regulating DA in the OT. However, the control of extracellular DA by uptake in the OT was less than in the NAc. The difference in DA transmission in the terminal fields of the OT and NAc may be involved in region-specific responses to drugs of abuse and contrasting roles in mediating reward-related behavior.